Law Times

PAGE 4 NEWS MAY 26, 2008 / LAW TIMES lawyers, died May 10. He was 71. He had been suffering various ill- nesses in recent years, including diabetes, prostate cancer, and had undergone cardiac surgery. Paroian, physically a large man who had a booming voice — which he seemed to use for effect to articulate a point, con- front an opponent, or browbeat the opposition if he thought they were wrong — was well known for the widely varied cases he represented as a civil litigator, many of which became almost iconic in southwestern Ontario. He also was a passionate de- fender of his clients' rights, and often became personal friends with them and their families. And, while he often was described as a champion of "the little guy," especially in lawsuits or in zoning and expropriation cases, many of his clients were well-established businesspeople or corporations whom he defended against what he considered the arrogance of power by governments and gov- ernment agencies. His most famous cases include INDSOR — Leon Paroian, one of Wind- sor's most colourful Windsor's Paroian champion of 'little guy' W BY RON STANG For Law Times the battle between a farmer's land rights and a municipal airport's air space; a group of landowners confronting On- tario Hydro's right-of-way; and representing the family of a man wrongly staked-out and killed by the Ontario Provincial Police. He also was counsel for DD LT RX3RDA-14 OP ad 5/14/08 11:03 AM Page 1 property-owners and businesses in two key Windsor redevelop- ment projects, including the construction of Casino Wind- sor. He was instrumental in helping change legislation al- lowing Sunday shopping in On- tario. And almost up to the time of his death he represented the Ambassador Bridge — which connects Windsor and Detroit — against the City of Windsor over property the city froze to prevent the bridge from devel- oping a new access road. Paroian's commanding pres- ence, passion, and a reputation for defending "lost causes" resulted in a film about his life called Leon's Law by filmmaker Andy Drouil- lard, which had its premiere at a gala in Windsor in 2003. In more recent years Paroian championed victims of a little- known disorder, pulmonary hy- pertension, which claimed his daughter Sherry Lynn Oliver in One of Windsor's most colourful law- yers, Leon Paroian, died on May 10. 2004. When she was diagnosed with the disease in the 1990s Paroian pulled out all the stops to create the Pulmonary Hyperten- sion Society of Ontario. He got on the phone and called lawyers throughout the province, quickly raising $50,000, and later $2 million for research into the lung condition. His first wife, Sandra, also died of the disease. Dr. John Granton, director of Toronto's University Health Network's pulmonary hypertension pro- gram, says Paroian "nearly sin- gle-handedly raised money and provided support for the pro- gram. Just because he was Leon he was able to get it done." Paroian, who had a farm just outside Windsor, raised horses for provincial quarter horse competitions. His farm- ing background gave him a down-to-earth personality, of- ten exhibiting an "aw shucks" manner that was deceptively effective. "He always liked to claim he was just a dumb farmer and he would try to size up his opponent and use whatever they said against him," says former professional colleague and member of Par- liament Susan Whelan. Paroian graduated from Os- With over 20,000 Office Products finding what you want is easy. known litigator Harvey Strosberg of Windsor's Sutts Strosberg LLP. "He was an exuberant type of guy, always very pleasant, loud, flam- boyant, a rambunctious character, very likable. Even if he were in opposition you couldn't help but admire the guy," Sutts says. "Even more so than any other counsel, he threw himself into the fray as if he were a partner with his client." Sutts remembers two de- cades ago when he and Paroian were asked by the Windsor mayor to represent the city in a challenge to the Sunday shop- ping prohibition. "And I think the result in that case led to the changes in the legislation which opened up Sunday shopping in Ontario," he says. goode Hall in 1961 and articled for Cliff Sutts, now with well- Sharp Electronics of Canada Ltd. Air Purifiers Purify your air like nature does Sharp's air purifiers combine a triple-filtration system with exclusive Plasmacluster technology. PCI utilizes both Positive and Negative Ions to inactivate airborne contaminants and "scrub" the air clean. The Triple Filtration Antimicrobial True HEPA Filter and Active Carbon Filter last up to two years. This product is supported by Asthma society of Canada. yourONE source supplier for dyedurhambasics.ca • 1-888-393-3874 • Fax: 1-800-263-2772 OFFICE & FURNITURE PRODUCTS Office & Furniture Products • Corporate Promotional Products Printing & Graphic Services • Law Office Essentials Corporate Supplies • Search & Registration Services www.lawtimesnews.com under Paroian and worked with him for 20 years, says Paroian was often seen as "bombastic" and "dominating," but "that's only part of the story." He says Paroian "was a great reader of people and personalities, and he knew when he had to be aggres- sive. But he also could be quite compassionate and generous . . . he knew when to fight and when to back off, he knew when to ne- gotiate and when to settle." Co- lautti says Paroian was a quick study. "He could take facts and analyze them and absorb them. He would come up with just strikes of genius." Examples of which resulted in two legendary cases. In one, Paroian represented a farmer who had land near Chatham's municipal airport. The airport wanted zoning re- strictions on what the farm could be used for so as not to interfere with the flights of planes. "They were trying to take all his land rights without expropriating [the property]," Colautti says. So, rather than tie proceedings up for years, Paroian suggested the farmer build a silo, effectively in- terfering with the flight pathway. The result? The airport authority was forced to purchase the land. Another was a battle be- Ray Colautti, who articled tween a group of landowners and Ontario Hydro. Anyone driving between Chatham and Windsor along Highway 401 will see the consequence. Out of nowhere, a Hydro power line advances to the highway, then runs along it for several kilo- metres, then turns away. While Hydro had the right to expro- priate the land, it didn't have right of access through farm- ers' fields. "The courts upheld Hydro's right to expropriate the land but Leon never gave up fighting and found ways to persuade Ontario Hydro that it would be better to put the hydro line somewhere else," Colautti said. It's the distance the line travels beside Highway 401 that represents the detour around the clients' properties. Colautti called these rem- edies "quintessentially Leon," someone who thought "outside the box" while having "a certain amount of moxy, the boldness to assert that, and then seeing it through to the end." In 1989 Paroian represented the family of Bernard Bastien, whose house was surrounded by an OPP tactical squad that had See Passionate, page 5 Insurance Our goal?… Your Financial Security! Interested in premium savings, superior protection, and prompt, personal attention for ALL of your Family and Business insurance needs? Then trust the RIBO licensed insurance professionals at: Ryan Guthrie C info@guthrieinsurance.com - www.guthrieinsurance.com Economical, innovative, insurance plans for 416-487-5200 • 1-888-310-SAVE 505 Consumers Rd., Toronto ALL of your, and your clients, Home, Business, Auto, Life and Leisure insurance needs. Helping families and business arrange quality insurance protection for over 40 years. yan Guthrie CAIB, CIP President Guthrie Insurance Brokers W e ' r e a y C a n a p d i m a n o a n

• Cover