A Brief History1. In 1996, Villar commenced to judicial acquire exploration claims superimposed upon Barrick’s Los Amarillos 1-3000 concessions with the specific intention of selling the in-process Amarillo Norte and Sur exploration claims to CMN, Barrick Gold Corp’s Chilean subsidiary.
2. Hector Unda Llanos acquired the Tesoro mining claims on the behalf of CMN, his employer, in February 1997 with the legal understanding that he would transfer these claims to CMN when they were fully constituted as exploitation mining concessions. These claims were also superimposed upon the Los Amarillos 1-3000 concessions and the Amarillo Sur and Norte in-process exploration claims.
3. On March 4, 1997, Villar signs the sales agreement completing the sale of Villar’s in-process claims to CMN. Subsequently, CMN lets these claims expire.
4. After almost four years, JL sends a letter to Barrick claiming that he and others were beneficial owners of the Amarillo claims and that the Pascua Lama project had been fraudulently acquired. He demanded a payment of US$3 million within ten days or he would begin “an all-out war” (1).
5. Barrick refused to pay and JL embarked upon "a systematic, extensive and vicious campaign of libel . . .” (1).
6. On March 4, 2001, Villar commenced legal proceedings, C 1912-2001, seeking to nullify the sale of the in-process Amarillo Sur and Norte claims. An injunction was placed on HUL’s Tesoro concessions preventing their sale or transfer during the course of the trial.
7. Barrick sued JL for internet libel and was awarded $15,000 in general damages on February 14, 2003. Barrick appealed the award, which was later increased to $125,000 by the Court of Appeals.
8. The 14th Civil Court of Santiago rendered a verdict in the Villar legal proceedings on August 27, 2010 against the plaintiff, declaring the sale of the Amarillo Norte and Sur in-process claims to CMN was valid.
9. JL convinced the CEO of a publicly traded company to finance the continuation of his litigious efforts against CMN. Between February 5, 2010 and February 24, 2011, MWR advanced JL $925,589.88 without benefit of any agreement.
10. On March 18, 2011, Jorge Lopehandia filed 34 petitions to judicially acquire exploitation concessions on the Amarillo Sur and Amarillo Norte claims. (V 1027-2011 thru V 1060-2011)
11. An appeal of the verdict in C 1912-2001, 3190-2011, was filed on May 20, 2011, and on the same day, JL and MWR enter into an option agreement for half interest in the newly petitioned claims with the exorbitant exercise price of approximately $1.9 billion.
12. The TSX exchange would not approve the disbursement of monies to JL for the option agreement. So, on September 14, 2011, MWR delists from the TSX stock exchange and registers to trade on the CNSX stock exchange. The next day, MWR makes a payment to JL for the Option Agreement using the funds raised and designated to carry out due diligence.
13. JL (and his brother, although JL claims it was really his) filed a series of civil lawsuits primarily against CMN:
- 12/13/2011, C 719-2011 – To nullify Los Amarillos 1-3000. Rejected: 11/18/2015
- 7/20/2012, C 560-2012 – To nullify Los Amarillos 1-3000. Rejected: 10/11/2013
- 7/30/2012, C 17273-2012 – To nullify Pascua Lama Protocol. Declared abandoned: 8/18/2015
- 11/6/2013, 407-2013 – Appeal of C 560-2012 verdict. Rejected: 7/25/2014
- 8/22/2014, 23178-2014 – Supreme Court Appeal of C 560-2012. Rejected: 1/30/2015.
- 1/28/2016, 39-2016 – Appeal of C 719-2011 verdict. Rejected: 10/20/2016.
- 7/01/2016, 41021-2016 – Supreme Court Appeal of C 719-2011. Rejected: 10/20/2016.
14. On May 16, 2012, MWR retracted, in their entirety, seven news releases that contained “potential” false and misleading statements.
15. In the meantime, all of JL’s petitions for exploitation concessions are either rejected or abandoned by mid-2013. Knowing he would have no viable exploitation concessions, JL filed 3 exploration claim petitions on October 19, 2012, which were enacted April 9 thru April 12, 2013 (Court cases V 820-2012, V 820-2012, and V 819-2012). These exploration concessions were:
Amarillo 5 033041218-6
Amarillo 8 033041221-6
Amarillo 9 033041222-4
An exploration claim allows one to dig holes and obtain samples for assay, but mining is forbidden. Such claims expire in 2 years. …. And it was these claims that were shown on the Catastro that Voodoo displayed as proof that JL actually owned concessions. They weren’t exploitation concessions. They weren’t the claims that were optioned to MSX. They could not be mined. They are currently expired.
16. During 2013, JL brought both civil and criminal charges against Laura Emery, an attorney for CMN, because she testified that CMN was the owner of the Tesoro concessions from a legal point of view. Both cases were dismissed.
17. Progress in the appeals of C 1912-2001 was made during 2013-2014. Appeal 3190-2011 was rejected on December 31, 2013. A Supreme Court appeal, 11859-2014, was filed by Villar, Lopehandia and others on May 6, 2014. The Supreme Court appeal was rejected October 2, 2014. The plaintiffs requested a reposition on October 6, 2014, which was rejected on October 16, 2014
18. On September 5, 2015, the 14
th Civil Court of Santiago issued a resolution to lift the injunction on the Tesoro concessions registered to Hector Unda Llanos. JL filed an appeal, 9594-2016, against the lifting of the injunction on August 19, 2016. This appeal was rejected on November 25, 2016 and pursuant to a Court order, the injunction was lifted on October 20, 2017. Shortly afterward, HUL transferred the Tesoro concessions into CMN’s name.
19. JL filed a civil suit and subsequent appeals to nullify the Pascua Lama Protocol. These were:
- 9/19/2015, C 22637-2015 – To nullify Pascua Lama Protocol. Rejected: 6/20/2017
- 5/12/2017, 5301-2017 – Appeal of C 22637-2015. Rejected: 3/28/2018
- 6/12/2018, 12906-2018 – Appeal of 5301-2017 to Supreme Court. Rejected 2/07/2019
20. On May 2, 2016, JL filed a lawsuit, C 3784-2016 virtually identical to C 1912-2001 previously lost by Villar et al, seeking the nullification of the original sales contract of the Amarillo Sur and Norte in-process claims even though the statute of limitations had long since expired. This suit has been inactive since 2019.
21. On November 29, 2016, JL filed a lawsuit, C 29407-2016, against CMN and the BCSC for libel. This suit is still ongoing against CMN only.
22. On June 28, 2017, the BCSC issued a Notice of Hearing alleging False Disclosure in MSX’s public documents in that they contained false and misleading statements.
23. On October 10, 2018, appeals of CMN, 12669-2018, and the BCSC, 12668-2018, were filed against the resolutions in C 29407-2016 rejecting the dilatory exceptions filed by the defendants asserting that the Chilean court did not have jurisdiction over actions that occurred in Canada.
24. On October 12, 2018, the BCSC issued findings that MSX and Brent Johnson, CEO of MSX, were liable for making the false and misleading statements.
25. On April 9, 2019, Brent Johnson was fined $150,000 and permanently prohibited from holding any office in a publicly traded company by the BCSC. MSX was permanently delisted and all persons were permanently prohibited from trading or purchasing any securities of MSX.
26. On May 6, 2019, Brent Johnson filed an application for leave to appeal the BCSC findings and sanctions with the British Columbia Appeals Court. The BC Court of Appeals rejected Johnson’s appeal on December 7, 2022.
27. On September 5, 2019, the Chilean Appeals Court ruled that the Chilean judiciary had no jurisdiction over the BCSC, and, as a result, the BCSC was dismissed from the libel suit.
28. On September 24, 2019, JL filed a criminal suit, P 16167-2019, against Felipe Ossa for contempt for not appearing to testify in the libel suit. The case was dismissed on August 21, 2020, and JL’s appeal of the verdict was rejected on September 21, 2020.
29. On July 20, 2020, JL filed a criminal case against HUL for malicious use of a public document, P 10451-2020, alleging “dual testimony” as to the ownership of the Tesoro concessions. This case was dismissed February 25, 2021 and JL’s appeal of the verdict, 912-2021, was rejected March 22, 2021.
30. Running out of reasons to sue CMN, JL then decided that, instead of Barrick, Felipe Ossa was the new private enemy number one:
- On August 18, 2020, JL filed a criminal suit against Ossa, P 7726-2020, for malicious use of a private document, alleging five falsehoods in Ossa’s affidavit that was submitted to the BCSC and was used in the hearing that resulted in the permanent delisting of MSX. This case was dismissed on August 3, 2023.
- On November 22, 2020, MSX filed an identical criminal suit against Ossa, P 11413-2020. This case was dismissed on January 19, 2022.
- On January 27, 2021, JL filed a civil suit, C 1036-2021, against Ossa and Claro & Co. claiming financial damages and mental distress caused by Ossa’s testimony and affidavit in the BCSC hearing.
- On March 8, 2021, MSX filed an identical civil suit against Ossa and Claro & Co., C 2418-2021.
- On March 21, 2022, MSX filed a criminal suit identical to the one that was dismissed two months earlier except that it now claimed that it was criminal for Ossa to not to have included his CV with his affidavit to the BCSC.
31. Then either as a delaying tactic or as an irritant, a series of international exhortos were requested in various trials:
- On July 19, 2022, a request was filed in the libel trial for an international exhorto for the testimony of Thornton, Leon and Brady with the Supreme Court, 40672-2022. This exhorto was issued on April 5, 2023 and the time limit was extended on June 15, 2023 for six months. Global Affairs Canada indicated that they have forwarded the file to the appropriate provincial authorities. The extended time limit has expired.
- On 11/21/2022, a request was filed in the civil trial, MSX v. Osso/Claro, for an international exhorto for John Thornton’s testimony with the Supreme Court, 147691-2022. This exhorto was issued on December 15, 2022. There has been no response from the Ontario Provincial Authority to date.
- On 11/30/2022, a request was filed in the civil trial, MSX v. Ossa/Claro, for an international exhorto for the BCSC executives’ testimony with the Supreme Court, 152945-2022. This exhorto was issued on January 4, 2023. On October 31, 2023, the exhorto was returned without result as the BCSC executives declined to appear voluntarily.
- On 09/25/2023, a request was filed in the civil trial, JL v. Ossa/Claro, for an international exhorto for the testimony of Thornton, Brady, Leon and Ho with the Supreme Court, 226129-2023. This exhorto has not yet been issued due to an objection by the defendants that the correct procedure has not been followed.
And here we are.
- Quoted from Barrick Gold Corporation v. Lopehandia