THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE HAS APPEARED IN THE RECORD ON April 23, 2003

Mayor's legal fees will be
lively election issue

The controversy resulting from the decision to cover Mayor Stanley Neil's legal fees has all of the potential of becoming a lively election issue. The fact that the Town of Brome Lake council claims that it had little choice will do little to appease those residents who consider the defamation lawsuit as nothing more than a personal matter between two private citizens. Regardless of the council's legal opinion, they see no valid reason why his fees should be paid out of their taxes. They can hardly be blamed. After all, when it comes to politics, legal interpretations are often far from a voter's mind. Whether or not a judge concludes that Stanley Neil's letter of April 29, 2002 to the Record defamed Lloyd Sturtevant's reputation, as taxpayers, we have every reason to be concerned over the potential costs.

Defamation cases can be costly

Defamation lawsuits are totally unlike cases involving physical injuries. They raise complex legal questions, often involve numerous witnesses and are almost always vigorously contested. Although one lawyer usually has the primary responsibility for seeing that each client's needs are looked after it is not unusual for additional lawyers to provide assistance. Legal fees can be very costly during any long trial if only because the lawyers on either side are prevented from rendering services to other clients. One only has to imagine what it would be like to exclusively retain a surgeon for five days or more. Furthermore, the more an attorney is experienced, the better his reputation, the greater his abilities, the higher his hourly rate.

The recent decision by TBL council to pay $5,737 is naturally just the beginning. Stanley Neil will undoubtedly receive further statements of account seeing that his civil trial has yet to be heard. Moreover, nothing prevents the losing party from appealing the verdict, right up to the Supreme Court of Canada.

All such billings will be passed on to Town council for reimbursement. The fact that each new billing will require a separate resolution is of little comfort. Having officially declared in their April 7 resolution that TBL "council will pay all reasonable legal costs incurred by Stanley Neil", the councilors would be in a difficult if not impossible position to suddenly reverse themselves.

Don't forget the extra- judicial fees

Stanley Neil's extra- judicial fees will also have to be paid. As with all court cases, they can include everything from filing, deposition and transcript fees to messenger services. When applicable they, also cover consulting and expert witness fees and expenses, long distance telephone charges, photocopying, computerized printing, computerized legal research and travel expenses

The costs of TBL's attorneys

The same principles apply to the legal fees of TBL's attorney. Just for the legal opinion on how to respond to Stanley Neil's initial request for reimbursement, TBL council had placed a $10,000 limit. Now that the TBL council has given instructions to intervene in the defamation trial in order to obtain a reimbursement ruling, the costs will continue to climb. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the losing party on the reimbursement ruling will not appeal, all of which means more delays and more costs.

What about an award?

Above and beyond the question of legal fees is the matter of a potential award. If the trial judge concludes that Stanley Neil defamed the reputation of Lloyd Sturtevant and orders him to pay damages where will that leave the taxpayers? We could ultimately be forced to pay unless the judge rules that Stanley Neil's letter/conduct amounted to a "gross or intentional fault or a fault separable from the performance of his duties." In the event of a contrary ruling and no insurance coverage, the taxpayers will, once again, be stuck having to pay.

Taxpayers are entitled to answers

Now that we are obliged to pay our mayor's legal bill, at least until a judge decides otherwise, it naturally follows that we are entitled to many more answers. I, for one, would like to know why our Mayor sent such a letter to the Record and I am sure there are others who feel the same way. Other questions are just as relevant. Did he believe his letter would benefit the TBL community and if so, why? Did he consult the then- town clerk and any of the councilors? In the affirmative, what was their advice and did he abide by their advice? As for the councilors who voted in favor of the resolution, I would like to know if they ever asked our mayor for an explanation and in the affirmative, what was his answer?

As sure as the sunrises every morning, any TBL citizen who expects to run as mayor or councilor, will be asked where he or she stands on the entire issue. When it comes to passing judgment on the different candidates, their answers or silence will be utmost on our minds.

Other potential election issues

No, I haven't forgotten the other potential issues such as commercial zoning taxes, how and where to improve the town parking facilities, where to build the community hall, the Master Plan, how to make TBL residents feel more welcomed at council meetings and how to improve and protect the lake water quality