Law Times

Page 16 February 2, 2015 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com Beer store cHaLLeNge aBaNdoNed A lawyer's plan to challenge the Beer store in court has quickly fizzled out. "The application has been discontin- ued in light of an expert opinion on the low chance of success and high cost," said Toronto lawyer Michael Hassell. "Fundraising was to occur next, but no one is going to fund the litigation in light of the expert opinion." Last month, he put the province on no- tice that he would be bringing a legal chal- lenge to s. 3(e) of the Liquor Control Act that grants Brewers retail inc. monopoly status as the only private company able to sell beer to the public without brewing it. The draft notice called it "an unreasonable restraint of trade, contrary to equi- table principles of fairness and contrary to public policy." The quick change of heart follows a recent Law Times online poll on the issue. According to the poll, 80 per cent of participants feel it's time for Ontario to end the Beer Store monopoly. Mr. iNcrediBLe seNteNced for attacK oN BatgirL LOS ANGELES — It seems this Mr. Incredible isn't such a superhero. A man who dresses as the comic superhero Mr. Incredible has received three years' probation after pleading guilty to attacking a woman cos- tumed as Batgirl in a Hollywood Boulevard turf dispute, prosecutors said. According to Reuters, the court also ordered Muhammet Bilik, 35, to attend anger-manage- ment therapy, perform 20 days of roadside clean- up, and stay away from the so-called Hollywood entertainment district where the spat erupted. "Hollywood Boulevard is famous around the globe and attracts millions of visitors every year. We must keep it safe," Los Angeles city attorney Mike Feuer said in a statement announcing the plea and sentence. "The characters who interact with children and family along Hollywood Boulevard have to obey the law," he said. Prosecutors say Bilik attacked the woman clad as Batgirl following a disagreement over sidewalk territory along a famed stretch of Hollywood Boulevard that draws tourists from around the world. Authorities didn't reveal the woman's ci- vilian identity. A video of the incident captured by a passerby and posted on YouTube shows Bilik, in his Mr. In- credible costume, slamming Batgirl into a rack of souvenir baseball caps as Chewbacca and Freddy Krueger characters try to intervene. Mr. Incredible is the father of a family of su- perheroes in the hit 2004 Disney-Pixar film The Incredibles. NaKed VioLiNist sues PortLaNd coPs PORTLAND, Ore. — Isn't Portland a liberal place? That may be so, but it seems police struck a sour note when they arrested a naked violinist last year. According to Reuters, an Oregon man who claims police violated his rights last year when they arrested him outside the federal courthouse in downtown Portland for playing his violin in the nude is suing the police department and oth- ers for $1.1 million. Matthew Mglej, 25, says officers used exces- sive force, unlawfully detained him, and violated his constitutional rights when they arrested him during his free-expression demonstration last May, according to the lawsuit filed in the Portland division of the U.S. District Court of Oregon. Mglej, of the Portland suburb of Hillsboro, says officers dragged him across concrete to the police car while he was naked, dropping him several times in the arrest process, according to the lawsuit. He also says he had cuts on his wrists from the handcuffs and police didn't allow him to contact a lawyer. Police said officers responded to Mglej's dem- onstration, in which he stripped off all of his clothes, played his violin, and made signs about freedom, after receiving numerous complaints. Portland police said at the time they had warned Mglej they would arrest him if he contin- ued his naked demonstration. According to Re- uters, they ultimately arrested him for violating the Portland city code that prohibits indecent ex- posure. "The man was arrested without incident but would not co-operate and walk to the police car under his own power, so he was carried by officers and placed into the vehicle for the ride to jail," a police statement said at the time. According to the lawsuit, Mglej told respond- ing officers he was within his rights to demon- strate. His lawsuit says people were cheering him on and taking pictures. Mglej also says he suffered emotional pain be- cause, during the arrest, he was separated from his service dog, Belle, who helps him with his post-traumatic stress disorder. He also says of- ficers taunted him for crying and used unneces- sary force while booking him in jail. Besides the lawsuit, Mglej has a court hearing this month on the indecent exposure charge. LT The title insurer that puts you front row, centre Putting the legal community front and centre has made us the #1 choice with Canadian lawyers for over a decade. Stewart Title does not support programs that reduce or eliminate the lawyer's role in real estate transactions. For more information call (888) 667-5151 or visit www.stewart.ca. Untitled-2 1 7/19/11 12:31:45 PM u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story criMe rate LoWest siNce 1969 Keeping up with the trend for the last 20 years, the police-re- ported crime rate in Canada fell even lower in 2013. According to statistics canada, the rate was at its low- est point since 1969 at 5,191 crimes per 100,000 population, a decline from 5,632 per 100,000 population the previous year. "Experts have not reached a consensus on why crime has been declining since the 1990s, but several factors have been cited as possible explanations," according to Statistics Canada's report on crime trends. "These factors include an aging population, changing po- licing practices and strategies, the rise of technology, shifts in unemployment, variations in al- cohol consumption, neighbour- hood characteristics, or chang- ing attitudes towards illegal and risky behaviour." Homicide represented less than one per cent of all violent crimes in 2013. In total, there were 505 homicides that year, which was 38 fewer than 2012. "The homicide rate, due to its consistent and reliable reporting to police, is often used as an in- dicator of the level of violence in a society," according to Statistics Canada. reaL estate LaWYer disBarred The Law society tribunal has revoked Toronto real estate law- yer John Paul abbott's licence as of Feb. 21. The hearing panel found that in seven instances, the lawyer had participated in "fraudulent or dis- honest conduct" to obtain mort- gage funds under false pretences. He also failed to "serve and per- form legal services undertaken on behalf of his lender, purchaser, and vendor clients to the standard of a competent lawyer in the transac- tions," according to a summary of the tribunal decision. In other tribunal news, Law Times reported last week on the Law society of upper cana- da's move to suspend Windsor, Ont., lawyer claudio Martini on an interlocutory basis. While the story noted a delay in the proceedings until April, it didn't point out that the tribunal had already issued an interim inter- locutory suspension on Jan. 5. BarrY LeoN Heads to cariBBeaN court Ottawa arbitration and litiga- tion lawyer Barry Leon is mov- ing to the Caribbean to become a commercial judge of the High court of the eastern carib- bean supreme court. The court is a Superior Court for the organization of east- ern caribbean states. Leon's appointment takes effect in March. He's currently a partner and head of the international arbitration group at Perley- robertson Hill & Mcdougall LLP. aaron rubinoff will now replace Leon in that role. "The firm is excited for Barry to have been appointed to this prominent international posi- tion with the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court," said Rubinoff in a statement. LT "This is Carol, my associate. This is my Internet reputation after being accused of sexual offences and this is my Internet reputation after being acquitted." Michael Hassell

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