Lawsuit threat from Ford called unlikely to proceed
Canadian Press talks to Daniel Iny about the Mayor’s threats to sue former staffers
The Canadian Press spoke to civil litigators after Mayor Rob Ford threatened to sue former staffers who spoke to police about his questionable activities, including allegedly snorting cocaine in the back room of a restaurant. Could the mayor sue for defamation? Daniel Iny is of the view that any lawsuit would be an uphill battle for the mayor.
“It’s hard to see how these latest allegations could possibly lower Mayor Ford’s reputation in the minds of right-thinking people,” said Daniel Iny, a civil litigation lawyer. “Mayor Ford’s reputation is so low right now that it could be hard for him to prove, even if the allegations … are false, that they damaged his reputation any further.
The ex-staffers, who simply “had a legal and/or moral duty to co-operate with the police in their investigation and answer the police questions … don’t have to defend their reputation.” said Mr. Iny. Mr. Ford on the other hand, “will be putting his reputation at issue” by moving along with the case.
Based on Mr. Ford’s recent admissions of drug and alcohol use, “one would expect that a lawyer would want a rather large retainer to take on this case.” And if he chooses to move forward, said Mr. Iny, he had better ensure there are no other revelations to come.