A fraudulent conveyance voided, Johnson & Johnson sued over a blood clot, and sealed Buziak documents

Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan:

In 2003 there was a coastal forestry worker strike in BC. It involved thousands of employees and multiple unions. After three weeks the strike was eventually ended by back-to-work legislation.

One of the impacted union locals, led by Sonny Ghag, was not happy about this. Mr. Singh organized the storming of a sawmill owned by Mainland Sawmills Ltd. during which employees were assaulted, people were threatened, and the mill was forced to close.

The mill owner, and employees who were assaulted, sued Mr. Ghag and the union local that he was the president of. Ultimately, this case was successful. The union local further sued Mr. Ghag, on the basis that he had acted without authorization in organizing the violent storming of the sawmill.

Mr. Ghag ended up owing $437,706.21.

That, however, was not the end of the matter as Mr. Ghag transferred all of his assets to his 18-year-old son, in 2013, declared bankruptcy to avoid paying the judgment.

If someone disposed of property in order to delay, hinder, or defraud creditors, or others, such a transaction can be voided pursuant to the Fraudulent Conveyance Act.

A judge concluded that this was exactly what Mr. Ghag had done. As a result, the transfer of seven properties to Mr. Ghag’s son were voided. The property will now be available to his creditors to collect the unsatisfied judgment.

Also on the show, Johnson & Johnson Inc. was unsuccessful in trying to strike out a claim made by a first nations woman who suffered a blood clot, and stroke, after using an Ortho Evra contraceptive patch.

Johnson & Johnson argued, amongst other things, that a “Black Box Warning” advised the plaintiff, who had a grade 10 education, of the risks of using the contraceptive patch. The warning referend a risk of “venous thromboembolism” and conflicting studies that compared the risk of this to the risk of this compared to using oral contraceptives.

The judge hearing the application concluded that there very much a triable issue with respect to whether or not the warning misrepresented the risk of using the patch.

Finally, on the show, lawyers for Capital City News Group Ltd. are applying to remove or vary, thirty-five sealing orders relating to production orders, search warrants, and other judicial authorizations concerning the investigation of the 2008 murder of Lindsay Buziak, a real estate agent in Victoria, BC.

The lawyers making the application were asking that they have access to the documents, on their undertaking not to disclose them to anyone, so as to permit them to make submissions with respect to their client’s application.

The judge hearing the application refused to permit access, even in this way, referencing in camera evidence that confirmed investigations into the murder remain active and ongoing.

As a result, even though the documents have been provided to lawyers for the Saanich Police Department, and the Province of BC, who are opposing the application, the lawyers for the news organization will need to make submissions without knowing what is in the documents.
Follow this link for a transcript of the show, and links to the cases discussed.