Law Times

Page 20 April 20, 2015 • lAw Times www.lawtimesnews.com STAY GRANTED IN HEYDARY CASE The Ontario Court of Appeal has stayed an order to pay the former clients of the late lawyer Javad Heydary from his LawPRO insurance pending an ap- peal by his former colleagues. The former clients, Samira and Hasan Abuzour, lost $3.6 million af- ter Heydary, who was to hold the funds in trust for them, disappeared amid an investigation into the missing money before being declared dead. Last year, Superior Court Justice Michael Penny awarded the Abuzours the amount remaining in Heydary's $1-million coverage under LawPRO's innocent party in- surance. But Heydary's former colleagues — Jeff Landmann, Yan Wang, and Darren Smith — brought a motion to vary that order on the basis that they hadn't received enough notice on an issue that inter- ests them as non-parties. The lawyers claimed the LawPRO policy applied to them as well as Heydary and the garnishment of the insur- ance, with a limit of $1 million, would leave them without coverage should they face a lawsuit. While the court heard and denied that motion, the lawyers are appealing the decision. Recently, LawPRO brought a motion to stay the garnishment order pending the appeal. Last week, appeal court Justice Grant Huscroft granted the stay. "The strongest argument in favour of granting a stay is one of ba- sic fairness," wrote Huscroft. "The problem at the heart of these proceedings results from the failure of the Abuzours to provide proper notice to Landmann, Wang, and Smith of the first motion before Penny J. Had notice been provided, they would have been able to appeal the October 28 or- der and that order would have been stayed automatically pursuant to rule 63.01(1)." $800K SPENT IN CASE THAT LED TO $10K AWARD It does seem like a lot of money to spend $800,000 on a case that resulted in a $10,000 award. "The amounts spent in this litigation are truly breathtaking," wrote Ontario Superior Court Justice Graeme Mew in his costs deci- sion in Bernstein v. Poon last week. The deci- sion noted the plaintiff 's costs of $545,000 and the defendant had spent $247,000. Bernstein set two popular diet doctors, Dr. Stanley Bernstein and Dr. Pat Poon, against each other in a defamation case. Bernstein sought damages for defamation after Poon criticized his competitor's diet as "akin to star- vation," according to Mew's Jan. 19 decision in the case. Bernstein alleged Poon had defamed him and his company in two editions of a book he authored, extracts from it published on a web site, and an interview he gave to a Chinese- language TV program, Mew noted. While Poon argued his statements were ex- pressions of opinion, Mew found particular comments, including those about Bernstein's vitamin injections, took them outside of the protection for fair comment and awarded the plaintiff $10,000 in damages. Last week, Mew ordered the parties to bear their own costs as he found the overall outcome to be "close to a draw." In doing so, he levelled criticism at both of them. "This case involved two egos, not just one," he wrote. "The plaintiff ruthlessly pursued the de- fendant. The defendant stubbornly refused to yield. . . . The exercise has cost them both a lot of money and, as noted in the reasons for judg- ment, has used a scarce public resource in do- ing so." WOMAN ACCUSED OF EIGHT MARRIAGES PLEADS NOT GUILTY NEW YORK — She was always the bride but was she ever the bridesmaid? According to Reuters, a New York City woman accused of being married to eight men at the same time has pleaded not guilty in state court in the Bronx to two counts of fel- ony fraud that prosecutors say stemmed from a scheme to gain U.S. citizenship for grooms from countries f lagged by the Department of Homeland Security. After Liana Barrientos, 39, married men from Egypt, Turkey, Georgia, and other coun- tries, she tied the knot an eighth time with Pakistani man Rashid Rajput, the Bronx dis- trict attorney's office said. Rajput was later deported to Pakistan in 2006 following an investigation into making threatening statements about the United States by the U.S. Immigration and Customs En- forcement agency's joint terrorism task force. "Not guilty," said Barrientos, sporting a ring on her left hand and shaking her head as she faced a judge during her arraignment. The woman got married as many as six times in a single year, in 2002, according to the criminal complaint. Assistant district attorney Jessica Lupo said Barrientos is still married to four men. When investigators asked her about her marriage to husband Vakhtang Dzneladze of Georgia as he sought U.S. residency, Barrientos admitted to "receiving money for those actions," said Lupo. According to Reuters, Barrientos was ar- rested last November after forms she filed in New York City in 2010 for a marriage licence with Salle Keita from Mali raised suspicions. A district attorney's office investigator found a trove of marriage certificates tying her to mul- tiple other husbands in various towns across New York state. Barrientos had stated on the 2010 forms that Keita was her first and only husband, and that statement prompted the two felony counts of offering a false instrument for filing, each punishable by up to four years in prison if convicted. LT u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story MCCARTHYS PARTNER GIVEN HONORARY JOB McCarthy Tétrault LLP part- ner Chia-yi Chua has been appointed an honorary consul general of Singapore. The appointment comes as Philip Eng, Singapore's high commissioner to Canada, for- mally opened the Singapore consulate general at McCarthys' Toronto office. "We are extremely proud of Chia-yi and we welcome the opening of the consulate general in our offices," said Marc-André Blanchard, chairman and chief executive officer of McCarthys. "This appointment celebrates Chia-yi's ability to cultivate signif- icant relationships and his capac- ity to provide strategic advice as it relates to the Asian marketplace. In my view, this new responsibil- ity speaks to his birth country's confidence in his sharp judgment and professional expertise." Chua acts as counsel for sec- tors including the financial ser- vices, telecommunications, re- source, and retail industries. "Canada and Singapore are gateway economies, both major players in their respective parts of the world," said Jean Cha- rest, a partner at McCarthys and a former premier of Quebec. "Chia-yi is a superb choice and will continue to nurture this significant relationship between our nations. My hearty congrat- ulations to him on this esteemed appointment." TED CITROME JOINS DICKINSON WRIGHT Former Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP lawyer Ted Citrome has joined Dickinson Wright LLP as of counsel in the firm's taxation practice. Citrome will focus on all as- pects of Canadian tax law with an emphasis on the taxation of ac- quisitions, reorganizations, and corporate finance, the firm said. "I look forward to leverag- ing my wide industry and legal experience, to provide Dick- inson Wright's clients with the tax advice they need to devel- op, strengthen, and grow their businesses in Canada," said Citrome. LT "Jane, I wish you well-deserved success in running for bencher! Personally, I'll be running for crocodile-shaped inflatable pool lounger." Javad Heydary ONLINE CANDIDATE FORUM APRIL 27

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