Bar Talk
With all due respect to the judiciary, written judgments tend to be rather dry reads. But the dry wit found in Miller v. Carley, a ruling from Mr. Justice Joseph Quinn, of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in St. Catharines, is a welcome change.
The decision in the quarrel between two men - one nicknamed "Ears" - over a $5-million lottery ticket has been making the rounds in legal circles since it was released last year. No wonder.
"After a busy day conducting illegal drug transactions, the plaintiff, the defendant and a mutual friend stopped at a corner store where the defendant purchased some 'scratch' lottery tickets. One of the tickets proved to be a $5-million winner," the judge wrote.
"The parties dispute ownership of the winning ticket. If the ticket were a child and the parties vying for custody, I would find them both unfit and bring in Family and Children's Services.
"The case is awash in untruths and curiosities. It is a study in good fortune squandered and generosity abused," he wrote in throwing out the plaintiff's claim that the ticket was to have been shared.
To read more, look up the judgment at canlii.org.
On the move
Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP has hired Marc Lemieux as a partner and the head of its financial services group in Montreal. Mr. Lemieux had been the vice-president of legal affairs for Gaz Métro Limited Partnership in Montreal. Fraser Milner also recently announced two new partners in its Toronto office: Sandra Walker joins its competition and antitrust practice, after leaving Stikeman Elliott LLP; Vivek Bakshi, who left his post as an associate with Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, will work with Fraser Milner Casgrain's energy and corporate/commercial groups.
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP modestly says it is "building a real estate empire" by snagging two new lawyers for its real estate practice in Toronto: Marty Emmons and Andrea Centa, both from Fraser Milner Casgrain (Fasken notes that Mr. Emmons was once chair of FMC's national real estate practice). Fasken also announced that Isabelle Chabot has joined its intellectual property practice in Quebec City.
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