N.B. judge rules affidavits inadmissible in Irving case
Last Updated: Friday, October 19, 2007 | 7:59 PM AT
CBC News
A New Brunswick judge has thrown out affidavits meant to show the Irving media empire is using anti-competitive business practices to keep a former employee from starting a rival newspaper.
William Kenneth Langdon, former publisher of an Irving-owned weekly newspaper, filed the papers Thursday but Brunswick News Inc., owned by J.K. Irving, asked the Court of Queen's Bench on Friday to strike them from the record.
The affidavits were sworn by Ariane Whiting, a former employee of Irving's advertising flyer distribution company in Bathurst, and Gary Windsor, the owner of a flyer distribution business also in Bathurst.
Brunswick News lawyer Stephen Hutchison told Justice Peter Glennie that the affidavits contain extremely serious, unproven allegations that the company was engaging in anti-competitive business practices.
Hutchison characterized the affidavits as irrelevant, inflammatory and extremely prejudicial to the Irving company.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2007/10/19/irving-court.html
5 comments:
When is the legslature going to step in and break up this Media Monopoly that Irving has? Its something else that Irving practices these cutthroat tactics and the people who complain get sued? Irving is very close to becoming Dictators and the real Government of New Brunswick if they have not already crossed the line which most people believe they already have!
The government (of Canada) already has investigated the situation and they found no problem with Brunswick News. Each individual NB newspaper has local editorial control, i.e. nobody at the Irving HQ in Saint John is writing editorials to appear in all the papers.
Other newspaper groups cannot make that claim. Take a look at the CanWest newspaper group's editorial policy if you want to complain about something.
Perhaps the most interesting article was Mlodecki's response to CBC publishing the avadavits. He states that they purchased Gary Windsor's flyer distribution business in 2001 for 2.3 million dollars and a five year non compete agreement.
In his own words he tells us that Mr. Windsor honoured that agreement as he did not re-establish a new flyer business until 6 months after the expiration of that agreement.
Yet Mlodeki is irked that it is in "direct competition" with the one he sold to BNI.
What is the thought process here... that no one can start up a business in competition with the Irvings...ever? A million dollars to shut down a business?
Then Mlodeki refers to Ms.Whiting as "experienced personnel" and a "valued and qualified employee". Those statements would lead you to believe that the Irvings had a certain amount of respect for this employee. I would think that valued would indicate intelligence, hard work, and honesty.
Yet in the very next sentence he accuses his former "valued employee" of making fictitious and ridiculous allegations. What is it that the Irvings value?
And then there's William Langdon. They employed him for 10 years. They must have promoted him to editor because it states he was an editor for the last 4 years. He must have been another experienced, qualified and valued employee. Yet now they're bringing legal action against him. Guess he should have accepted the 3 year non-compete agreement; but then he could be in the same position as Windsor, 3 years from now.
What's with the documents?
While he was still in their employ he took home documents that related to his position. Who cares if he resigned 2 days later or 2 minutes later; he was still an employee. If he was supposed to get some type of permission while he was employed by BNI... then slap him on the wrist and ask for them back. Slap Mlodecki's, too.
And really... how can it be proven that he was going to use the information for his "competing" flyer business? Irving's might have jumped in a little too soon to prove that. Maybe he was going to use it for toilet paper. I don't think we will ever really know.
I could understand the drama if it was after he resigned; but really are the Irvings so powerful that they can waste our tax dollars in the court systems?
Anon 9:19... you don;t think we'll ever really know? I do, we'll know as soon a a judge rules on the issue. Until then... its all smoke and mirrors.
And for the record, the CBC has been far less than unbiased in its reporting on this issue. From my understanding this story is about and employee stealing documents to start a rival paper in Woodstock. It has nothing to do with the flyer distribution stuff in Bathurst. CBC is looking to smear a competitor and is reporting very little on the actual story of employee breach of trust.
We the people of NB need someone to help us get all news out in the open. As it is now we get only the "Irving Version" in the only Irving paper, Irving radio nad Irving controlled TV. Oh yes it would be nice to have politicians who would treat the people of NB with some fairness. As of now we have no one truly looking after the best interest of all taxpayers.
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