Tuesday, June 18, 2013

"Ever heard of SLAPPs and vexatious lawyers Justice Laskin ..... well have you?" The court system does not work!

Appeal Court upholds ruling declaring man "vexatiouis, litigant

William Malamas 75, has sued dozens of parties in the past 25 years. A judge upheld a ruling naming him a "vexations litigant" Monday.

By" Laura Kane/News Reporter
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
William Malamas, has lost his appeal that declared him a "vexatious litigant." He has sued dozens of parties in the past 25 years.

William Malamas has spent more than $1 million suing dozens of lawyers over the past 25 years, but his days of litigation may be coming to an end.
On Monday, an appeal court justice dismissed his appeal of a 2012 ruling that declared him a “vexatious litigant,” meaning he cannot file any new actions without meeting a significant threshold with the court.
“Mr. Malamas has persisted in his groundless allegations of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and other nefarious conduct by these parties,” Justice John Laskin wrote on behalf of the three-judge panel. “The nature of his allegations justifies substantial indemnity costs.”
Laskin ordered Malamas to pay $63,861 in costs.
MORE ON THESTAR.COM
Twenty-seven parties, including law firms McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Gardiner Roberts LLP and Teplitsky Colson LLP, had brought the initial action to declare him a vexatious litigant.
Still, Malamas, a 75-year-old former real estate broker, remains defiant. He told the Star he believes the lawyers are conspiring to restrict his access to the courts.
“This application was brought for one reason only. They cannot beat my cases,” he said. “All of my actions have merit.”
Malamas said he is considering appealing to the Supreme Court of Canada, his last remaining option.
His legal saga began in the 1980s, over a dispute related to a Danforth Ave. property he was renting to the National Bank of Greece. He sued the bank for rent arrears and damages for breaking the lease.
The case spiralled out of control in the following years, as he sued nearly every lawyer who represented him in that litigation and others. According to court documents, he sued 16 lawyers in six years.
The main argument Malamas made in the appeal was that William O’Hara, counsel for Teplitsky Colson, didn’t have instructions from all 27 parties to write the affidavit. But Laskin’s decision dismissed that argument.
Malamas also believes lawyers have wiretapped him and that one of the parties involved in the initial lawsuit has a vendetta against him.
“The court system does not work,” he said with a sigh.
But Ray Thapar, counsel for some of the parties who brought the vexatious litigant application, said Monday’s decision was a victory for the justice system in Ontario.
“I think they’ve saved the judicial system a lot of money with this guy. It was years and years of abuse,” he said.
Thapar said about seven or eight law firms had been working around the clock on his cases. He first started working on Malamas’s case 13 years ago, soon after he was called to the bar.
Even in Malamas’s ongoing lawsuits — there are several underway — he will have to prove to the court the cases have enough merit to continue, he said.
Being declared a vexatious litigant is reserved for very rare occasions, said Thapar.
“It's an extraordinary remedy, and rarely applied,” he said. “As individuals in a civilized society, we need access to the courts. . . . It doesn’t completely deny them access, but it restricts it.”
As for Malamas, he refuses to pay the costs until he decides whether to appeal. The Greek immigrant said the litigation has already cost him his business and family.
“My life has been destroyed,” he said. “If I knew what they would do to me in Canada, I would prefer to stay up the mountains in Greece.”

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home