Law Times

PAGE 16 WillBuilder Tel: 416.322.6111 Toll-free: 1.866.367.7648 doprocess com ntitled-2 1 The COURT BACKS CLASS SETTLEMENT The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has certified and approved a settlement in a class action brought against payday lender Cash Money Cheque Cashing Inc. The deal could see custom- ers receive as much as $5.7 mil- lion in vouchers for Cash Money services. Cash Money has made the settlement without admitting liability. "The main allegation in the lawsuit is that Cash Money charges a criminal rate of interest on its payday loans in violation of section 347 of the Criminal Code of Canada," read a posting on the web site of Paliare Ro- land Rosenberg Rothstein LLP, which prosecuted the class action with Koskie Minsky LLP. The posting stated that, "Cash Money has charged and contin- ues to charge a fee of $20 per $100 borrowed, and the claim al- leges that the $20 fee constitutes a criminal rate of interest." Cash Money payday loan cus- tomers up to June 15 will be en- titled to a $50 voucher. OCAA PRESIDENT DEFENDS CROWNS Ontario Crown Attorneys' As- sociation president Thomas He- witt issued a statement last week defending Crown attorneys in the midst of media scrutiny over jury-vetting policies. Hewitt's comments follow revelations that prosecutors in Barrie, Windsor, and Thun- der Bay have been erroneously gathering information — such as pardons, young-offender convictions, and chargers with- out convictions — on potential jurors through police. "On a daily basis, Ontario's Crowns are routinely engaged in work that is highly important, often complex, and frequently very stressful," said Hewitt. "Very considerable demands are placed upon Crown attorneys, who con- duct their work in the public eye and while subject to a degree of scrutiny that is unsurpassed by any other professional body of men and women. As public ser- vants such scrutiny is, of course, to Reinventing the Will www 2/2/09 10:53:45 AM Inside Story be welcomed. At the same time, I would like to believe that there is an understanding and apprecia- tion of the valuable and difficult work performed by Crowns." Hewitt went on to urge the public to await the outcome of inquiries into the allegations. "My sole purpose in issuing this statement is to strike a note of balance amidst the current highly-charged and one-sided atmosphere," he said. "I would simply like to remind Ontar- ians that the Crown attorneys in this province consistently strive to serve the public to the highest standards they can. Far from being purveyors of injus- tice, my colleagues routinely work to ensure that justice for all is achieved in each case they handle. Ontario's Crowns do not seek to meddle with the scales of justice. On the con- trary, no one is more active than they are in working to preserve that delicate balance." MAJOR ALBERTA INSURANCE DECISION Next stop, the Supreme Court of Canada. That's the consensus on the future of Alberta's $4,000 cap on non-pecuniary damages for minor auto accident injuries, after a recent Court of Appeal decision upholding the policy. The Minor Injury Regula- tion part of Alberta's motor vehicle insurance regime was introduced in 2003 through a series of moves aimed at regulat- ing insurance rates and increas- ing medical and rehab services for accident victims. A trial judge at Alberta's Court of Queen's Bench ruled that the MIR interfered with equality rights provisions of the Charter of Rights and Free- doms by discriminating against minor injury claimants. The appeal court disagreed. The Court of Appeal decid- ed that the trial judge took the wrong approach to the Char- ter analysis. It said the judge should have assessed the legis- lative scheme in its entirety. For more Inside Story, please visit www.lawtimesnews.com "...and finally, I urge the court not to discount Mr. Gweejump's testimony merely due to his tragic status as a serial survivor of truth-avoidance addiction." UNIVERSITY HIT WITH STRING OF TAMPON MACHINE THEFTS EAST LANSING, Mich. — A heavy flow of break-ins and thefts from tampon dispensers at Michigan State University has campus police hopping. According to MSU's campus newspaper, six break-ins and thefts were reported to Michi- gan State University Police be- tween June 1 and 12. All that work, however, amounted to a piddly $7.50 in stolen change. "I can't recall a time [when] there have been numerous ones at one time," said MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Tay- lor about the hits on the hy- giene product dispensers. The State quotes senior stu- dent Sheena Patel as saying, "I think that if you're going to steal something, you should steal it from someplace better than a tampon machine. "It's got to be bad if some- one's stealing from a machine in a bathroom." No arrests have been made, but police hope to catch the person or people responsible, McGlothian-Taylor said. A STEP BEYOND CARD SHARKS MEXICO CITY — Another bright idea from drug smug- glers has been extinguished by authorities in Mexico. In a quest to outwit police and get drugs on the street, drug-smuggling cartels have to ™ June 22, 2009 • Law Times Bizarre Briefs By Viola James try new methods to move their products. This time, it was in a container of frozen sharks. Sadly for the smugglers, an X-ray during routine checks on the containers on a ship travelling from Costa Rica to Mexico revealed bags of co- caine stashed inside the bodies of the frozen sharks. The navy boarded the ship and sailors found 893 kilograms of the drugs once they cut open the frozen sharks. The cargo had left from Puer- to Limon, Costa Rica, and was destined for Tonala, in central Mexico, said navy commander Eduardo Villa Valenzuela. FEELING THE WEIGHT OF THE LAW SPOKANE, Wash. — Micha Hasselstrom was having none of it when a Spokane County Municipal Court judge ordered him into custody. The 34-year-old got into an argument with Judge Tracy Staab over charges he violated a court no-contact order. His un- ruly behaviour led the judge to ordering him into custody. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Hasselstrom made a beeline for the door — with his public defender lawyer Tony Tompkins apparently hanging onto his leg. A deputy tried to cuff a struggling Hasselstrom and in the meantime two other law- yers got into the fray to help. "The entire group ended fall- ing onto a bench of uninvolved people in court for other mat- ters," said Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan. "A 68-year- old woman was knocked to the floor and partially buried beneath the struggling suspect, officer, and attorneys." No one was injured but Hasselstrom now faces further charges. PLEASE FEED DOGS, WATER POT PLANTS QUEENSTOWN, New Zea- land — John Turner didn't want anything to go wrong when he went on holidays so he left detailed instructions for his dog-sitter on how to feed the dogs and keep the pot — and by that we mean marijuana — plants happy. The Kiwi man left a note for his friends laying out how to use the equipment in his house, including the cannabis-making paraphernalia. The house-sitter was charged with cannabis cultivation while Turner was on a holiday in Europe. He was only nabbed when he got back, thanks to the useful note that explained, blow-by-blow, how to use the equipment. "It was a note for caring for the animals and clear in- structions for growing canna- bis," police prosecutor Grant Gerken told Queenstown District Court when Turner appeared last week. Defence lawyer Michael Newell tried to reduce Turner's $750 (Cdn$540) fine by saying the equipment had belonged to previous Canadian tenants. "But Mr. Newell conceded Turner was aware of the equip- ment's purpose and was kicking himself for being so stupid," The Southland Times reported. LT www.lawtimesnews.com

• Cover
• Review Process
• A Criminal Mind
• Focus On Family Law