Law Times

Page 20 November 26, 2018 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story "When mediating disputes like this, we try to avoid confrontational language, like 'fatal poison pills' or 'annihilating, hostile takeovers.'" MAN EATS THC CIGARS WHILE HANDCUFFED RACINE. Wisc. — A man charged with drug possession tried to eat the evidence while hand- cuffed. Daquan "D-Day" Javal Burns, 23, was appre- hended during a traffic stop Nov. 19, reports the Journal Times. He was charged with one felony count of possession of narcotic drugs and multi- ple misdemeanors for possession of a controlled substance, possession of THC, two counts of obstructing an officer, resisting an officer and six counts of misdemeanor bail jumping. While being searched by police, a packet of cigarillos laced with THC was found in Burns' pants pocket. The package was placed on top of the squad car, at which point Burns "leaned over the hood of the squad and attempted to eat the cigarillo package," the deputy said. Burns was prevented from eating the pack- age and later reportedly told law enforcement "it's just more charges." The Sheriff 's Office said that 1.4 grams of a substance that tested positive for THC was found inside the package. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 5 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center. Burns remained in custody at press time. 'MISSING PICASSO' MAY BE A HOAX AMSTERDAM — A painting that Romanian prosecutors said might be a work by Pablo Pi- casso stolen in 2012 is more likely a forgery cre- ated as a publicity stunt, reports Reuters. State broadcaster NOS cited author Frank Westerman, who helped locate the painting in Romania's Tulcea county after an anonymous tip, turning it over to Romanian police on Nov. 17. Westerman told NOS he had received an email from a Belgian theatre company that is staging a play about a famed art forger. He said the painting he recovered appears to have been a forgery hidden as part of an elaborate hoax. Romanian prosecutors, who said they were trying to verify the work's authenticity, could not immediately be reached for comment. The BERLIN theatre company in Antwerp, Belgium, which is putting on the play about forg- ery, said in a carefully worded tweet that it had "brought back" Tête d'Arlequin in a new frame. The real Picasso and several other paintings were stolen from an exhibition in Rotterdam in one of the art world's most dramatic heists. A Romanian man and several accomplices were convicted of the theft in 2013, but none of the artworks has been recovered. NETFLIX AND SUE NEW YORK — The Satanic Temple has set- tled its copyright lawsuit against Netf lix Inc. (NFLX.O) and Warner Bros Entertainment over its alleged misuse of its goat-headed deity statue in the series Chilling Adventures of Sa- brina, a Warner spokesman said. Reuters reports that the settlement was ami- cable and resolves a Nov. 8 lawsuit in which the Satanic Temple had sought at least US$50 mil- lion of damages. Terms were not disclosed. Lawyers for the Satanic Temple did not im- mediately respond to requests for comment. A Netf lix spokesman referred requests for com- ment to Warner Bros, a unit of AT&T Inc. The Satanic Temple, which is based in Salem, Mass., and is also known as the United Fed- eration of Churches LLC, describes itself as a promoter of benevolence and empathy among people rejecting tyrannical authority, reports Reuters. It complained that Sabrina misappropriated its statue "Baphomet with Children" in a man- ner implying that it stood for evil and that the depiction hurt its reputation. The first 10 episodes of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina were released on Oct. 26. Netf lix distributes and Warner Bros produces the series, which stars Kiernan Shipka as the teen- age half-witch, half-human title character. LT LAW FIRMS MERGE The merger of Goldman Sloan Nash & Haber LLP and Zaldin and Fine LLP means the com- bined firm will be among the larg- est commercial real estate groups in Canada, according to manag- ing partner Murray Hart. The lawyers from Zaldin and Fine LLP will join Goldman Sloan Nash & Haber LLP's prac- tice at 480 University Ave. in To- ronto. Lawyers Karen Ceifets, Ste- phen Jackson and Michael Turner, who bring expertise in areas such as business litigation and small- and medium-sized businesses, will join the newly ex- panded Toronto-area team, according to the announcement by Gold- man Sloan Nash & Haber LLP, which will keep its firm name as is. The firm will have a total of 38 lawyers. Hart says the merger ref lects the firm's long-time strategy catering to entrepreneurs. "We are trying to hit that little niche. Our clients tend to be entre- preneurial clients as opposed to institutional or huge corporations," says Hart. "I'm the relationship person. They come and they tell me the facts and I set them up with the personality or skillset which I think is most appropriate for the situation, and I think entrepreneurs like that." ONTARIO COURT APPROVES DISPUTED SIXTIES SCOOP LEGAL FEES Class counsel in Brown v. Canada (Attorney General), 2018 ONSC 5456 (CanLII) may receive a maximum amount of $37.5 million for their work on the Sixties Scoop class action saga, Justice Edward Beloba- ba said in a Nov. 15 decision. An estimated 22,400 Indig- enous children were taken from their homes and placed with caregivers without Indigenous backgrounds over four decades, leading to legal cases in Ontario and across the country. In June, Belobaba said a $75-million legal fees provision in an earlier settle- ment agreement was "excessive and unreasonable," despite the approval of a national settlement agreement in a similar case, Rid- dle v. Canada, 2018 FC 641. TORONTO LEGAL TECH STARTUP EXPANDS REACH IN CLOUD COMPUTING Diligen, a Toronto-based artifi- cial intelligence startup focused on contract law, announced on Nov. 15 that it will offer integra- tion with cloud platform Net- Documents. The combination of the two products aims to speed up business document review, the announcement said. The NetDocuments feature comes on the heels of another cloud partnership between Diligen and Clio, announced in October. 14 % NO, I DO NOT AGREE YES, I AGREE 86 % LAW TIMES POLL The province and federal gov- ernment have not offered funds so far to make up a shortfall in Pro Bono Ontario's budget, so the organization has announced it is closing three legal help cen- tres. Law Times asked readers if they thought the Law Society of Ontario should assist with funding so the centres can stay open. The majority, 86 per cent, said the law society should assist with funding, responding that Pro Bono Ontario's legal help centres are in the interest of the public. The minority, 14 per cent, said the LSO should not step in, saying that Pro Bono Ontario's shortfall is not a need that falls under the LSO's mandate. LT When you are looking for specialized legal counsel, turn to the resource that showcases peer-ranked Canadian legal talent. lexpert.ca/directory LAWYER Untitled-2 1 2018-11-21 8:22 AM Murray Hart says the merger of two law firms will help with the strategy of catering to entrepreneurs.

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