THIS unfortunate matter is not going away. The following email exchange with Canadian top lawyer Richard Dearden shows that a lawsuit against UofOWatch will follow. It also shows an aggressive lawyer not interested in discussing solutions or even providing clarifications on simple points.
[Note: It makes more sense if you read from the bottom up.]
From: Dearden, Richard
Date: Mon, May 23, 2011 at 4:04 PM
Subject: RE: U of O Watch Blog: Joanne St. Lewis
To: Denis Rancourt
Mr. Rancourt
1. cease communicating with my client directly - you communicate with me as counsel for Professor St. Lewis.
2. i attach [LINK] my May 20th letter to you which is the second Notice i was referring to in my email to you today.
3. there is nothing to clarify regarding your defamatory statements - you take down your defamatory blogs immediately and then i will consider meeting with you to discuss the wording of your unequivocal retraction and apology to Professor St. Lewis that you will publish on your blog. That may assist in mitigating the damages you have caused her.
4. as for your para 4 below, the Statement of Claim that will be issued against you should answer your questions. Once again i strongly recommend that you retain a lawyer to defend the defamatory statements you continue to repeat and add to (such as the statements in para 5 below that are false and defamatory). I am informing you to not repeat the accusations in para 5 below to any third party. To do so will be malicious and further aggravate my client's damages.
Richard Dearden
Partner
613-786-0135
gowlings.com
-------------------------------------------
From: Denis Rancourt []
Sent: Monday, May 23, 2011 3:25 PM
To: Dearden, Richard
Cc: joanne.stlewis@uottawa.ca
Subject: Re: U of O Watch Blog: Joanne St. Lewis
Dear Mr. Dearden,
Thank you for your reply. Clarifications are needed in this matter.
(1) Since you have not indicated that you would inform your client about my May 20th offer to publish her response, I have put Ms. St. Lewis in cc. This will also make Ms. St. Lewis fully aware of our exchange.
(2) Without implying guilt or blame on any party, I continue to seek a meeting to help clarify and resolve this matter, as I have indicated.
(3) In your today's email, you state "I have served you with two Notices demanding..." yet your letter of May 16, 2011, is the only paper communication that I have ever received from you (and in which you make no mention of a previous communication). Are you counting your email of 11:54am today as having served me a second "Notice"? Please clarify.
(4) Please clarify the nature of any legal action that you may be contemplating. I note that you do not refer to any specific law or legal principle that would have been violated. In the absence of any allegations of my having violated a specific common law or Act, please clarify the legal basis of the apology that you are now demanding and that was not mentioned in your letter of May 16, 2011.
(5) I am concerned that you or your client Joanne St. Lewis have obtained my unlisted personal home address. Please inform me how you obtained my personal information. In particular, I am concerned that my former employer the University of Ottawa could have illegally or improperly released my personal and former employee information to you and your client Joanne St. Lewis.
(6) Please acknowledge receiving the present email communication.
Sincerely,
Denis Rancourt
Mr. Rancourt - I have served you with two Notices demanding that you take down the defamatory statements you have published about my client. You refuse to do so.I will not consider any meeting with you until you take down your offensive statements. Let me be clear - there are no "possible misunderstandings" - you have published false and defamatory statements about Professor St. Lewis that have damaged her , must be retracted immediately and require an unequivocal apology from you. I strongly recommend that you retain a lawyer.
Richard Dearden
Partner
613-786-0135
gowlings.com
Sent: Friday, May 20, 2011 2:43 PM
To: Dearden, Richard
Subject: Re: U of O Watch Blog: Joanne St. Lewis / Your (Gowlings) letter of May 16, 2011
Richard G. Dearden
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
Ottawa
(by email: richard.dearden@gowlings.com)
Re: U of O Watch Blog: Joanne St. Lewis / Your (Gowlings) letter of May 16, 2011
Dear Mr. Dearden,
(1) I am self-represented in this matter.
(2) Your law firm has legal specializations including in the area of protection of personal information. Therefore, you understand my concern that you or your client Joanne St. Lewis have obtained my unlisted personal home address. Please inform me how you obtained my personal information. In particular, I am concerned that my former employer the University of Ottawa could have illegally or improperly released my personal and former employee information to you and your client Joanne St. Lewis.
(3) The present matter about my U of O Watch blog and Joanne St. Lewis is one of public interest and I have and expect to continue to publicly report about it, as I have done here:
http://uofowatch.blogspot.com/2011/05/top-dog-canadian-freedom-of-press.html
(4) Without implying guilt or blame on any party, as a self-represented individual, I request to informally meet with you as soon as is convevient in order to discuss and explore (1) informally resolving our possible misunderstandings, (2) the benefits of a possible apology regarding your client's feeling of having been offended by statements alleged to be racist, and (3) matters that you have raised.
(5) I was concerned by the possible negative societal impact of your client's apparent professional behaviour in relation to the SAC report but I am open to considering new facts and new reasoned interpretations in this matter and to correct my U of O Watch blog position accordingly.
(6) Please offer to your client Joanne St. Lewis that she write a response (to the U of O Watch post of expressed concern) that I will immediately publish without editorial changes in as conspicuous a place and type as was the alleged defamatory post. This response can include links to any supporting documents. I am also open to posting a guest op-ed by a third person selected by your client Joanne St. Lewis.
(7) In the week of Victoria Day, I am available May 25th and May 27th for our meeting. I am also available the week of May 30th (except June 1st).
(8) Please immediately acknowledge receiving the present email communication.
Sincerely,
Denis Rancourt
IMPORTANT NOTICE: This message is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message may contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or the employee or agent responsible for delivering the message to the intended recipient, you are notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify Gowlings immediately by email at postmaster@gowlings.com. Thank you.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: This message is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message may contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or the employee or agent responsible for delivering the message to the intended recipient, you are notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify Gowlings immediately by email at postmaster@gowlings.com. Thank you.
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