Law Times

Page 16 December 7, 2015 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com WESTERN LAW HOCKEY STUDENTS OFFSIDE The dean of Western Law School says he was "disappointed" to learn a group of law students were playing intramural hockey under an offensive name and has called an end to the existence of "Dixon Cider" and issued disciplinary measures to those involved. Western Law dean Iain Scott said the hockey team's name was brought to his attention Nov. 19 when a law student con- tacted him with concerns about it and the sweaters worn by male and female players of "Dixon Cider." "I was dismayed," says Scott. "Once I had the name explained — you have to say it to get it and obviously it's totally unacceptable and doesn't ref lect our values and what we're trying to instill in what we expect in our students." As reported in the London Free Press, the team had been using the name for at least two years. The sweaters featured a picture of a man car- rying a box. "This was out of the blue — these intramural games are played late at night in empty arenas somewhere and I've never been to one," says Scott. He adds the team was contacted the same day he was notified by the student and informed their hockey sweaters with the Dixon Cider name on them should not be worn. The team name has since been changed to the Crash Test Domi's. Scott says he's dealt with the issue as a code of conduct matter and it is being addressed in terms of "how we should treat and regard one another." Citing privacy reasons, the dean would not speak to the specifics of the discipline being handed out to the 12 players on the team. "This is something the university has a process to deal with and it's within that context I've dealt with it," he says. Law Society of Upper Canada spokesperson Susan Tonkin told Law Times that under the Law Society Act and By-law 4, recipients of lawyer or paralegal licences are required to be of good character. Licensing applicants are therefore required to disclose matters in their past or present circumstances that may place their character in issue. However, that doesn't mean only the students can report the activity to the law society. "Like in all matters, the Law Society receives and can act on information from a number of sources," said Tonkin. FRENCH PRIEST ADMITS TO TAKING 700,000 EUROS TOULOUSE, France — A Catholic priest will be sent to court after admitting he stole more than 700,000 euros collected from churchgo- ers and buyers of holy candles over a quarter of a century, the French public prosecutor's office said. René Heuillet, 80, admitted pocketing pro- ceeds of regular church collections between 1987 and his retirement in early 2013, plus 100,000 euros from votive candle sales, ac- cording to a statement from the prosecutor's office in Foix, in southwestern France. He seemingly spent little of the money. Pub- lic prosecutor Karline Bouisset said the author- ities had frozen holdings of 656,000 euros on his bank account. The case was brought to light by the priest who succeeded him in the Pyrenean mountain village of Saint-Lizier, said the statement. His trial is slated for January 2016. CHIMNEY FIRE KILLS INTRUDER FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. — Good thing Santa wasn't early. A suspected burglar who attempted to enter a California home through the chimney died last month after the home- owner lit a fire without realizing the intruder was inside, police said. The man appeared to have climbed into the chimney during the night while the owner was away and then became stuck, according to the Fresno County Sheriff 's Office. The owner of the home in Huron lit a fire in his fireplace on Saturday afternoon, but then he heard a man yelling inside the chimney as the house filled with smoke, the sheriff 's office said in a statement. The homeowner tried to extinguish the f lames, but firefighters who dismantled the chimney during a rescue effort found the sus- pect dead inside, the sheriff 's office said. The deceased man was identified by the Coroner's Office as Cody Caldwell, aged 19. The cause of death was determined to be smoke inhalation and burns. WOMAN ADMITS TRYING TO SELL BABY ONLINE JOHANNESBURG — Make mine a double. A mother pleaded guilty in a South African court to having tried to sell her baby on the Internet for 5,000 rand ($462), the online news service News24 said. "I admit that my actions were wrongful, un- lawful, and intentional. I have no defence," the 20-year-old woman was quoted as saying by News24. Police said the woman was arrested in Oc- tober following a tipoff from a member of the public who said that a baby was being sold on the web site Gumtree. She was freed on bail and placed under house arrest. Sentencing will be carried out in February. SANTA STEALS HELICOPTER IN 'BLACK FRIDAY' CAPER RIO DE JANEIRO — Rudolph is too slow. Bra- zilian police are hunting for a São Paulo Santa Claus who kicked off the Christmas shopping season by stealing a helicopter. The thief rented the aircraft from an air taxi service at the Campo Marte airport in São Paulo for a Black Friday "surprise," the São Paulo state security secretariat said. During the f light, the Santa forced the pi- lot to f ly to a small farm outside of São Paulo, where they were met by a third person, the sec- retariat said. The pilot was tied up and the two perpetra- tors f lew away. After several hours, the pilot managed to es- cape and alert police. There has been no sign of the helicopter, a Robinson model 44, authori- ties said. LT ARE YOU RECEIVING CANADIAN LEGAL NEWSWIRE? Keep abreast of essential legal news, opinions and analysis with our electronic newswire. VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.LAWTIMESNEWS.COM SIGN UP FOR FREE From the publisher of and CLNW_LT_Nov2_15.indd 1 2015-10-28 8:33 AM u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story LEGAL ROLLER-COASTER Maybe the Law Society of Upper Canada is right to go slow when it comes to approving alternative business structures. The darling of ABS, Australian-based plaintiff litigation firm Slater & Gordon, took it on the chin in the latter part of November, with its share price dropping a whopping 69 per cent after the U.K. shocked the legal market with an announcement that it would seek to limit lawsuits from car accidents. OUCH, THAT HURTS Lawyer Miguna Miguna has been stuck with a $120,000 legal bid over his failed attempt to sue Consortium Book Sales and Dis- tribution, LLC, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for copyright breach. That's less than the $155,000 in costs they sought after they successfully obtained a summary judgment order in his copyright case against them. Miguna, who is qualified in Kenya and Canada, is author of Peeling Back The Mask – A Quest for Justice in Kenya. It's an autobiography of Miguna, who once served as a senior ad- viser on legal and constitutional affairs to the prime minister of Kenya. Miguna claimed the de- fendants breached his copyright, but the Ontario Supreme Court disagreed. LAW TIMES POLL There's a healthy dose of skepti- cism when it comes to the coun- try's efforts on battling climate change, according to our last poll. More than 44 per cent of read- ers said governments are merely "engaging in platitudes" when it comes to taking effective action on climate change. The poll found 55 per cent felt that there was a consensus building in Canada that it is time to act. LT "Well, we lost the case, got hit with a special cost award, got charged with contempt of court and we really should have done some due diligence regarding the repayment terms of that litigation loan." Iain Scott

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