Now what?
Arctic Oil ex Lawson wins $30,000 defamation award
2011-03-18 20:17 ET - Street Wire
Also Street Wire (C-CGS) CanWest Global Communications Corp
by Mike Caswell
FormersenatorEdward Lawson has won his libel case against The VancouverSun's DavidBaines, with the judge finding that Mr. Baines defamed Mr.Lawson in a2008 column. The decision, handed down on Friday, March 18,by SupremeCourt Justice Robert Sewell, awards Mr. Lawson $30,000 ingeneraldamages. Although the judge called the general damagesaward"significant," it fell short of the $100,000 that Mr. Lawson hadsought.
Thedecision comes after a 12-day trial held in Septemberand October,2010, at the Vancouver courthouse, during which Mr. Lawsonargued thatMr. Baines's story unfairly linked him with stock fraudstersEd Carterand David Ward. Among other things, the story stated that Mr.Lawsonprovided the promoters with free flights on a Teamsters jet andreceivedshares in rigged companies.
Mr. Baines, for his part,argued thatthe facts of his story were true. During the trial, hepresentedevidence that Mr. Lawson had traded in five or six Carter-Wardcompaniesand had served as a director of one. The trial also heardmuchtestimony about Mr. Carter and Mr. Ward's presence on the Teamstersjet.
Justice Sewell's decision
Inhis19-page decision, Justice Sewell found that the sting of thelibelagainst Mr. Lawson was the inference that the former senatorprovidedMr. Carter and Mr. Ward with free travel on the Teamsters jet inreturnfor free shares. The story would cause an ordinary reader toinfer thatMr. Lawson "did play an active role in the Carter Ward scheme"and thathe "did abuse his office" as a Teamsters official.
Whilethedefence spent a significant portion of the 12-day trial trying toprovethe literal meaning of the words in the story, the evidence itpresentedwas mostly irrelevant, the judge ruled. He found that the caseturnedon the meaning that an ordinary reader would glean from thecolumn,which is that Mr. Lawson was corrupt. This means that many hoursoftestimony and court time had little bearing on the generaldamagesaward.
Specifically, the judge said that two lines in Mr.Baines'sstory created the defamatory meaning. They stated: "Lawsonalsosuffered the embarrassment of being identified as a close associateofEd Carter, who along with partner David Ward was caught in a hugestockbribery scam in the mid-1980s. Evidence at the criminal trial ofCarterand Ward was that the two promoters gave Lawson shares of theirriggedcompanies, and Lawson flew them, often free of charge, on theTeamstersexecutive jet he had at his disposal."
The defence hadcontendedthat the story was about Arctic Oil and not about Mr. Lawson,but thejudge was not swayed by this argument. He agreed that the greatmajorityof the column focused on Arctic Oil and the questionable natureof thecompany, but "I do not see how that argument advances thedefendants'case," he wrote. The column essentially argued that ArcticOil was astock scam, and the comments about Mr. Lawson supported thatargument.
Whilethe judge decided the case in Mr. Lawson's favour,he found that the81-year-old former senator was an unreliable witness.During the trial,his testimony frequently differed from documentaryevidence. In oneinstance, he denied being a director of former VancouverStock Exchangelisting Tye Explorations Inc., when documents showedthat he had been.Justice Sewell did not attribute his unreliability toany attempt tomislead the court, however. "Rather I have concluded thathis ability torecall past events has deteriorated to the point that itcan no longerbe relied upon," the decision reads.
Also unreliable,although fordifferent reasons, was the evidence of Mr. Carter, whotestified aboutflights on the Teamsters jet. The judge said Mr. Carter'sevidence wasself-serving, and he was "extremely egocentric and anxious,even at thislate date, to justify his actions of 25 years ago."(Securing histestimony was a significant matter during the trial, as thejudge had toadjourn the hearing for three weeks while lawyers for bothsides flewto Toronto to set up a video conference with the 85-year-oldpromoter.When he finally testified, he laid most of the blame for hispast legalproblems on his former partner, Mr. Ward, who was murdered in1997.)
Unlikethe others, the testimony of Mr. Baines, as describedin the decision,was honest and forthright. The judge said he had nohesitation inrelying upon it.
When it came to damages, the judgesaid that Mr.Baines imputed "serious misconduct" on Mr. Lawson, whichrequiredsomething more than a nominal award. He also took intoconsideration thefact that Mr. Lawson sought an apology and retraction,but The Sunrefused.
Although the judge granted Mr. Lawson generaldamages, heturned down the former senator's request for an extra awardof $25,000to $50,000 in aggravated damages. Mr. Lawson had argued thatMr. Bainespublished the column out of malice, or with an intent toinjure hisreputation. Justice Sewell disagreed, and found that Mr.Baines wrotethe column with a view to informing the public about aquestionablestock promotion, that of pink sheets listing Arctic Oil& Gas Corp.
Thejudge made no ruling on costs in the case,although The Sun willpresumably have to pay a portion of Mr. Lawson'slegal bill. At theconclusion of the trial, both sides sought andreceived permission tomake submissions on costs after the judgment.
NorthVancouverlibel specialist Roger McConchie represented Mr. Lawson, andVancouverSun lawyer Rob Anderson represented Mr. Baines.
Theotherdefendants in the case were Vancouver Sun employees HughDawson,Patricia Graham, Kirk LaPointe and Kevin Bent, as well asCanwestPublishing Inc., the paper's owner at the time of the story.
Reader Comments- Comments are open to paying subscribers of Stockwatch andunmoderated,although libelous remarks, obscene language andimpersonations may be deleted.Opinions expressed do not necessarilyreflect the views of Stockwatch.
For information regarding Canadian libel law, please view theUniversity of Ottawa's FAQ regarding Defamation and SLAPPs.
Well done Lawson! You were in the right all the time and stuck to your guns! A true canadian.
Posted by Rayat 2011-03-18 21:42
Iam a big fan of Baines' column, but always felt itwould be only amatter of time before his inferrential and prejudicialundertone wouldcatch up with him. Keep shining the light David; but letthe readers passtheir own judgement.
Posted by Sammyat 2011-03-20 12:24
baineshasn't bothered printing about canwest'sdebacle, where baines himselfbenefited from some exorbitant salary, orthe trinity western universitytax scheme where many a canwest employeewas implicated..........
Posted by strangeat 2011-03-21 09:32
doesanyone read his column anymore? he has provenin his writing to knowexactly what a bank teller would know about themarket. One day he willrealize he had his strings pulled by many amanipulator.
Posted by trollat 2011-03-21 09:57
listen,if baines knew anything about the market hewould have already writtenabout the HA and their market dealings andnamed some of the brokers whowork with those HA, until then he's in thedark, you reading this knowmore than he does on what is going on.
Posted by ?triple secat 2011-03-21 10:20
Baineshas always added hie personal feelings to hisarticles, either writeabout the stock, or write about the person,Baines is always pushing apersonal note when writing about companies,adding his personal feelingsof individuals which do not need to bementioned in the article.
Posted by Bewilderedat 2011-03-21 13:01
Ihave not read Baines for over a decade. He is atbest, a hack writer whois not in the least objective. As to his actualknowledge of how amarket works, he has never convinced me that he trulyunderstands thegame. That being said, I would imagine that if ever;now would be anexcellent time to start reading him again. Perhaps thisadventure will besufficient to bring some sanity and balance to hiswriting. I dounderstand that decades ago he was held in high esteem byhis peers. Andperhaps he can re-capture some of his past glory andstyle, therebyelevating his screed to a level worth my reading time.
Posted by Anomander Rakeat 2011-03-21 14:47
Lookslike Judge/Juror/Executioner Baines met hismatch and got his wristslapped by a real judge. How else was the Masterof Inference going toget knocked down a few pegs for his "journalism."
Posted by OTCBBat 2011-03-21 21:47
@ Anomander Rake
Into the breach (someone has to do it).
I have not read Baines for over a decade.
Aweel,I’d venture to suggest that it’s been a bit more than a decadesinceyou’ve read much of anything, as your grasp of the current usageof theEnglish language is not only abysmal, it’s appalling.
As to his actual knowledge of how a market works, he has never convinced me that he truly understands the game.
I’dventure to suggest that it’s been a wee bit more than a decadesinceyou’ve understood much of anything, so your knowledge of the waythemarkets work currently is not of much use, is it?
That being said, I would imagine that if ever; now would be an excellent time to start reading him again.
Erm...Anom,buying a bucket of commas, etc. is of little use if youalso didn’t buythe how-to video. If you read the same way as you write(can you spelldyslexic?), reading Baines’s columns in the Sun wouldleave youmystified, envious and in the dust.
That being said, I would imagine that if ever; now would be an excellent time to start reading him again.
Not unless you’ve paid for (and attended) Remedial Reading 001.
Ido understand that decades ago he was held in high esteem by hispeers.And perhaps he can re-capture some of his past glory and style,therebyelevating his screed to a level worth my reading time.
Yougo, anom. Why is it that I think that, decades ago, you thoughtthat youwere held in low esteem by your peers for reading the skidmarks on yourscreed?
Posted by halcrowat 2011-03-21 22:34
If the Sun carried this decision as a news item it should have been under the title 'Judge Jolts Jerk Journalism'.
Posted by Cyrilat 2011-03-22 00:44
Bainesprovides a valuable service to the market byactually caring about itand doing some solid research. He has a senseof humor too. I enjoy hiscolumn, usually.
Unfortunately, his tone is typically snide andderisive, which, whenmixed with his arrogant disdain for the VancouverStock Exchange, paintseveryone he writes about with a slimy brush.Because Canada's libelawards are so minuscule, he gets away with acharacter assault withlittle fear of consequence. It's simply not worthsuing.
If Baines was more balanced in his writing, and from timeto timewrote about all the good people doing good things with pennystocks, hewould have more credibility. Lately, he is on a crusadeagainst theOTCBB, calling it "dreadful," as if no proper and goodbusinesses arelisted there, which of course is complete nonsense.
Baineslikes to unfairly taint his subjects by linking them to knownmarketoffenders and inferring guilt by association. That is meanspirited andwrong. Hopefully he will learn a lesson here, but I doubtit.
Posted by Nameat 2011-03-22 00:58
Looks like these anti-Baines comments are all by the same person, or maybe two persons. Hmmm?
Posted by Skidmarkat 2011-03-22 01:37
I would opine that the pro-Baines comments must have been submitted by his family members.
Posted by Cyrilat 2011-03-22 02:40
Baines'column is simply an opinion column, if hereports any facts within theopinion piece the facts are always wrong.His opinion is not based on anymarket experience nor from the tone ofhis writing is it from anyexperience as a market trader. The fact hewas a simple bank teller showsin his understanding of marketcomplexities and is revealed in hiswriting. Call any listed company andyou are sure on some occassion tohave a simpleton answer and promoteyou about a company stock and have noidea on what they are talkingabout. Those are situations that deserveexposure, but Baines couldn'ttell a real deal from a sham deal. If youhave his ear, you can pull thestrings easier than a guitar. And from hiswritings, most of the peoplewho have his ear have never bought a stockor called a listed companyin their life.
Posted by parker toutsuiteat 2011-03-22 08:29
mr baines is an ambulance chaser
every newspaper has one
mostly they tend to be failed journalists or those with little ambition or imagination
asone other writer noted, many good things and persons come out oftsxentities. most of the largest mining discoveries in the world inthelast fifty years have been located or financed by canadians orcanadiancompanies and many if not most of those were from peopleassociated withvancouver or who have ties with vancouver
this year i have seenmore than in any other single year ofexploration for a long time whichtells me there are going to be others
instead, we have to readabout some scoundrel who was shot deadtwenty years ago or some low levelbulletin board promoter who stole afew thousand dollars from somegreedy shareholders or people too lazy orstupid to do any due diligenceof their own
meanwhile, some of us continue to investsubstantially and to prosperhandsomely from the hard work of tirelesscanadian promoters who giveus an opportunity to buy shares at .25 andsell them often at ten times,twenty times or even higher multiples ofour original investment
frankly, the risk to any sophisticatedinvestor is minimal. if youare a novice, then be careful, just as inany business venture.
i don't need some person who has neverinvested one cent in any stockin his life pretending that he can tell meor anyone else how thingswork or how they should work.
they simply don't know, and never will.
ilook forward this exploration season to making more money than atanyother time in my career, thanks almost entirely to TSX andTSXVpromoters, brokers and financiers.
good luck to all!
Posted by birdcatat 2011-03-22 17:33
it is about time that the courts realized that davidbaines does very little research for his column.evrything he writes isbogus
Posted by johnny be goodat 2011-03-22 22:41
Baines is a first-rate reporter. The other guy's pockets are stretched out of shape.
Posted by Well-formed HTML formattingat 2011-03-23 04:10
mrbaines is nothing more than an over the hillnever was who discoveredonly too late that his columns are mostly anafterthought to businessreaders, or something which they accidentlystumbled across whilstsearching for another more meaningful story inthe newspaper
it ismost amusing to observe him attempting to feign comaradariewith thosenow very wealthy and highly regarded industry executives whomhe onceroundly and repeatedly criticized while they were successfullypioneeringwhat is now the premier worldwide investment vehicle formining financein spite of his vain and vain efforts to slow theirentrepreneurialinstincts
good luck with trying that
turns out the tsxv is just about the best place to be on the entire planet for leverage and windfall profits
littledid mr baines know we would be enjoying the highest commodityprices inhistory and that the promoters, brokers and investors would bereapingworld record profits while he continues to punch a clock overat thepress building
not that i have anything against union workers
i think it was mr brown himself who said that 'the best revenge is living well'
Posted by johnny be badat 2011-03-23 21:56