Musings —11.14.2013 01:02 PM
—Statement by my BFF (and lawyer) Brian Shiller
“I am offering to act for all of the proposed defendants in Mayor Ford’s anticipated lawsuit on a pro bono basis. It is important that a signal is sent that the citizens of Toronto will not be intimidated by the Mayor of Toronto from cooperating with the police in an investigation into potential wrongdoing by the leader of this great city.”
awesome…what a fabulous gesture. I just finished writing how I hope these law suits go thru…as everyone of these staff members ( and others) have grounds for winning. Last weeks press conference…where he says he was in a drunken stupour and doesnt remember the crack incident,…seals every case. The ford brothers stand to lose a hefty fortune in counter lawsuits too:)
Is there a basis to countersue Ford? My understanding is you can’t sue someone for suing you, but effectively he’s libeled those who spoke.
Maybe the ex-female staffer he named who was the alleged object of his sexual remarks should sue, since he said SHE said false scurrilous things about him… but the documents indicate it was actually someone else who’d told police he heard those remarks directed at her.
I object to the use of the word “leader” in reference to Ford. Asides from that very nice!
Amazing gesture Brian. Our great city needs more of you, and less of… well, need I say? Thanks.
A Ford SLAPP by any other name.
The FordFuhrerBunker is getting more desperate and hopefully emptier.
Does that include the cameraman just punched in the guts by RoboFo’s driver?
Oh,man! Keeping up from Northern BC! A little down time for a bite of lunch, and turned on tv to a Canadian news channel and it was all a combo of seriousness and chortling about this mayor of Toronto (a city in Ontario), so tried another to get national and international news, and it was meticulous detail about Toronto’s mayor, and a third channel had it on too, and it’s as if the national media has goddam decided that all the goddam rest of the goddam country is as goddam mesmerized by the goddam mayoralty goddam office nonsense in the goddam city of goddam Toronto.
So…might as well spend my down time reading what’s on this site.
(I apologize if calling Toronto ‘goddam’ has offended anyone. My language was unforgiveable. What else can I say? I’m sorry.)
Here’s a CP article quoting Julian Porter on the probable lack of success if the Fords try and sue.
http://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2013/11/14/fords-threatened-lawsuit-going-nowherelawyer/#.UoU4USfPpwt
Interestingly, a newspaper cannot be sued for reporting on any Police interviews like this, unless (according to Porter) they actually lied, knowingly. That is interesting. You can actually write un-substantiated hearsay if what you are reporting on was an investigators interview. You can get it wrong, you can be careless and get it really wrong, provided you do not cross the line into deliberate falsehood. I guess that explains the media pile-on. Plus the contents of all those interviews of course.
Hmm – where is his cause of action? Surely respondeding to police inquiries honestly falls under a qualified privilege ?
Way to uphold the finest traditions of the bar Shiller ( receive justice send no bill)
This is lovely, but a fairly superficial gesture since Mr. Shiller must know none of these potential cases could go through when the statements were made to the police.
Mr. Shiller is obviously a class act. Sad the same thing can’t be said about RoFo.
Virgil-His ego nec metas rerum nec tempora pono; Imperium sine fine dedi.
No date, no goal I here ordain; Theirs is an endless, boundless reign.
Hopefully Brian can help change that.
I’m down.