Law Times

PAGE 20 u BIZARRE BRIEFS By Viola James LITTLE WORK FOR SRI LANKAN HANGMAN COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Is hiring a hangman in a country that hasn't been executing people wise use of taxpayer dollars? That' views for the post of hangman a year aſter two positions fell vacant with at least 480 convicts on death row. But it' s the question as Sri Lanka begins inter- ful candidates would fill their days as Sri Lanka, a predominantly Buddhist country, hasn't used the death penalty since 1976. " s not quite clear how the two success- About 176 applicants are there and inter- views are going on today and tomorrow," Gami- ni Kulatunga, commissioner operations at the Prisons Department, told Reuters. "Only males will be eligible for the post." The two posts fell vacant aſter one hangman got a promotion and the other retired. At least 480 people convicted of murder and drugs offences could potentially face execution, Kulatunga said. POLICE SUED FOR DUMPING BOOZE NEW YORK — Even police should know you never waste alcohol. But that might not be case in New York City, where the owner of a Brooklyn bar is su- ing the city aſter police emptied the bar' stock of alcohol down the drain over a liquor licence dispute. According to Reuters, David Kelleran, 51, claimed in his lawsuit that the police's Prohibi- s entire tion-style tactics violated state law and trampled on his rights. And, in any case, the police got the wrong address. Kelleran, who owns the restaurant called 68, days to make the payment. Before the 10 days were up, Kelleran said police came to his apartment over the restau- rant in Brooklyn and arrested him for selling alcoholic drinks without a licence. He spent the night in jail, the lawsuit said. While he was in jail, police went into Coco66, a bar Kelleran owned next door to 68, and poured all of his wine, beer, and liquor down a drain, the lawsuit said. Both the bar and restaurant have been closed person to fathom that, in 2011, a high-level NYPD ranking officer would order his subor- dinate police officers to destroy lawful private property in this way, According to Reuters, the city's law depart- ment said it was reviewing the lawsuit. " Trainor said in an email. INMATE'S SEVERED FINGER MAILED TO FRENCH POLITICIAN PARIS — A prisoner is taking the idea of a hunger strike to the next level by cutting off his finger and sending the severed body part to a French politician. An inmate in a French jail has mailed part of his own severed finger to the country's jus- tice minister in hopes the desperate gesture would help his plea to be moved to another prison, officials said. An envelope containing the chunk of finger arrived recently at the offices of Justice Minister Christiane Taubira, accompanied by a letter ar- guing for a transfer to a jail nearer to the inmate' is seeking an unspecified amount of damages for the loss of alcohol worth "thousands of thou- sands" of dollars, his attorney Craig Trainor said. According to the lawsuit, the New York State Liquor Authority notified Kelleran in July 2011 that his $4,382 cheque to renew 68's liquor licence had bounced and that he had 10 family, a police official said. A Justice Ministry spokesman confirmed the delivery of a piece of finger. "It's a sad affair; s there are many inmates asking for transfers," Reuters quoted spokesman Olivier Pedro-Jose as saying. Overcrowding is plaguing French jails with September 3, 2012 • Law timeS u The INSIDE STORY GUY PRATTE BOWS OUT Guy Pratte, the independent counsel at the proceedings related to Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench Associate Chief Justice Lori Douglas, has resigned, a move that leaves the Canadian Judicial Council scrambling to find a replacement for him. Norman Sabourin, executive director and senior general counsel at the council, wouldn't comment on Pratte' since then even though the liquor licence for Coco66 was valid, his suit said. "Frankly, it is hard for any reasonable would say only that the hunt is on for an immediate replacement. "We hope that within a few days we can announce an appointment," s reasons for resigning and Guy Pratte Sabourin told Legal Feeds. Toronto lawyer and legal commentator James Morton says the pro- ceedings have faced a lot of difficulties. "The details involving his resigna- tion don't appear to have been made clear yet. But it appears as though he was not at all content with the way things were proceeding. husband posted sexually explicit photos of her online in 2003 when the couple were family lawyers at a Winnipeg firm. POLL RESULTS The results of the latest Law Times online poll are in. Fiſty per cent of respondents said they haven't thought about succession planning for their law practice because they don't plan to retire anyway. The results follow an Aug. 20 Law Times article that indicated that many lawyers hadn't thought much about succession planning. By comparison, 31 per cent of A council committee is looking into the conduct of Douglas, whose " respondents said they had thought about succession planning for their practice while almost 19 per cent said retirement was too far in the future to think about the issue. the prison population hitting a record 67,000 this year compared to around 50,000 a decade ago, according to Justice Ministry figures. LT CBA FEE CHANGES The Canadian Bar Association has changed its fee structure. The base membership rate will served by permitting a cause of action to be defeated by delays inherent in the litigation pro- cess," wrote van Rensburg in a decision that contrasts with other rulings that went against plaintiffs in similar circumstanc- es where lengthy proceedings had delayed matters. The Imax litigation stemmed IMAX MOTION DISMISSED Superior Court Justice Kather- ine van Rensburg has dismissed a motion for summary judgment in relation to the plaintiffs' statu- tory claims for secondary-market misrepresentation in the class action case of Silver v. Imax. "No public interest would be now be a flat fee of $540 a year with a 60-per-cent discount applied during the first three years of call. The fee will be increase annually based on the consumer price in- dex and discounts will be available to associate and retired members. Law students will pay $20. The CBA hopes the new fee will help small firms and sole practitio- ners who said they found it dif- ficult to justify CBA membership costs. It' member participation. Previously, the CBA based its s also hoping to encourage "That's Frederick Charlesworth III. He took the company public but retired shortly after the courts started enforcing judgments from the planet Bloopus." fee structure on year of call. "The current fee structure, based on year of call with incremental in- creases up until five years in prac- tice, was no longer resonating with members, and actually ranked sec- ond last by members in a survey undertaken by the CBA in 2011," the CBA said in a statement. "The last time the CBA reviewed membership fees was in 1994." from allegations the company made misrepresentations that led to a precipitous decline in its share price a few years ago. The U.S. action began in 2007. Short- ly aſter, Dimitri Lascaris of Siskinds LLP in London, Ont., filed a parallel case in Ontario. Last month, the court denied certification to plaintiffs in a sec- ondary-markets action involving CIBC and its subprime mortgage exposure even though Justice George Strathy in- dicated he saw merit in the case. On July 3, Strathy ruled in securities class Green v. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce that the plaintiffs had failed to obtain the required leave to proceed with the action within the mandated three-year period. The court also rejected the plaintiffs' request to certify common law claims for negli- gent ever, Strathy indicated that had he found that the limitation period hadn't expired, he would have granted leave and certified the ac- tion as a class proceeding. misrepresentation. How- LT Don't miss out on your chance to reach 150,000 up-market GTA households Untitled-4 1 www.lawtimesnews.com Produced by 12-08-29 2:02 PM LEGAL RESOURCE GUIDE 2 0 1 2 Serving the Greater Toronto Area WHEN LIFE THROWS YOU A CURVEBALL, THIS GUIDE WILL HELP MAKE IT A BIT EASIER TO GET THROUGH YOUR LEGAL ISSUES AWYER? NEED A

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