TORONTO - Conrad Black notched another legal victory Friday when Ontario's top court ruled that six libel suits against his former business associates could proceed in the province.
Black's lawyer Lisa Munro said her client is pleased with the decision.
"He is, of course, thrilled because this now means that he can actually get on with the trial on issues relating to the defamations that he claims the former officers and directors of Hollinger Inc. have issued against him," she said in an interview.
"This particular motion has obviously caused some delay and he's eager to press forward with the trial on his action in Ontario."
The former media mogul is attempting to sue members of a special committee of Hollinger International -- where Black was once the chairman and CEO -- over statements about his use of shareholder money.
The statements were published on the Sun-Times Media Inc. website and republished by many media outlets in Ontario.
Court documents cite in particular a 2004 report from the committee, authored by Richard Breeden, that said the company was a "corporate kleptocracy" while Black was the chief executive officer.
It also said Black "freely used the company's coffers, financed by its public shareholders, to finance (his) own lifestyle," and that Black had "looted" the newspaper publisher of at least $300 million.
Black's lawsuits allege the defendants sought to destroy him and transform him into a laughing stock, and damaged his reputation in Ontario. The suits, which were filed in 2004, seek more than $1 billion in damages.
The defendants argued that the case had no real connection to Ontario, because Black was no longer a Canadian and the statements were made in the United States by directors, officers and advisers of an American corporation in accordance with U.S. security laws.
Black's legal team countered that the libel actions should proceed in Ontario, where he established his reputation and should be vindicated from statements about his use of Hollinger shareholder money.
When a lower court dismissed the defendants' motion for a stay in 2009, they appealed the decision. But the Court of Appeal rejected their argument Friday.
"Because Black's claims relate to statements published in Ontario and his suits are limited to his reputation in Ontario, I agree that it would be unfair to deprive him of a trial before the community in which his reputation has been damaged," Justice Andromache Karakatsanis wrote for a unanimous decision by the three-judge panel.
The Court of Appeal agreed with the lower court judge's finding that no single jurisdiction was home to the majority of the parties involved in the lawsuits. Nine of the 11 parties were in the United States, but were spread across six different jurisdictions.
"No matter where the trial was held, most parties would have to travel to attend," Karakatsanis wrote. "I am not persuaded that (the judge) erred in principle in finding this factor to be neutral."
The higher court also addressed the defendants' argument that Black would have an advantage by pursuing his case in Ontario rather than the U.S., where libel laws are less favourable to plaintiffs.
Karakatsanis wrote that it was "perfectly legitimate" for Black to take advantage of Ontario laws, since a "substantial connection" with Ontario had been established.
The court awarded Black $35,000 in legal costs.
However, the defendants could ask the Supreme Court of Canada for an appeal of the decision. Calls to their Toronto lawyer were not immediately returned Friday.
"It's open to them," Munro said. "It wouldn't surprise me if they did (seek leave to appeal)."
Black is currently free on bail after serving more than two years in a Florida prison on fraud and obstruction of justice charges.
He was released in July after the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the scope of the law used to convict him of fraud.
The decision didn't clear Black but ordered a lower court to decide whether the three fraud convictions should be overturned.
Black recently dropped his request to return to Canada and will remain in the Unites States while an appeal that could bring a final resolution to his case goes ahead.
His case is expected to return to a Chicago court on Sept. 20, where he could make the request to return to Canada again.
Black is still facing several civil suits, including a $71-million lawsuit by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service for alleged unpaid taxes, which Black has challenged.
Hollinger once owned the Chicago Sun-Times, The Daily Telegraph of London, The Jerusalem Post and hundreds of community papers in the U.S. and Canada.
