Ken Johnston
Richards
must pay
legal costs
Just seven days after holding their annual meeting back in January, the Rainy River Cattlemen’s Association breathed a sigh of relief when word came that a lawsuit against them was thrown out of court.
RRCA president Ken McKinnon said they are relieved the matter is over, but does not want to dwell on it.
“We need to look forward, not back,” he stressed.
Given the recent major upgrades to the Stratton sales barn, the RRCA sees a bright future ahead now that the threat of losing its assets to a lawsuit is gone.
Former sales barn manager Russell Richards sued the RRCA for wrongful dismissal, naming McKinnon and fellow directors Amos Brielmann, Shawn Hyatt, Jeff Pollard, Jason Teeple, Herb Govier, and Aarne Hahkala as defendants.
At its annual meeting in 2008, the RRCA passed a motion to keep the existing executive in place until the lawsuit was resolved (the same motion was passed again at the 2009 meeting in January).
According to a press release issued by the RRCA’s lawyer, “On Jan. 29, 2009, the Hon. Justice E.W. Stach of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed Mr. Richards’ court action. . . .
“After hearing submissions, on Feb. 19, 2009 the Hon. Justice G.P. Smith ordered Mr. Richards to pay the personal defendants costs of $3,500.
“In his reasons, Justice Smith stated explicitly that Mr. Richards ‘should not have sued the defendants in the first place’ and should have responded to an earlier proposal of the personal defendants to dismiss the action.”
At the RRCA’s 2008 annual meeting, Richards’ son and wife told the Rainy River Record that he was suing for the balance of a 10-year contract, of which they said he had four years left.
As for the motion to keep the current board of directors, McKinnon told the Record last Thursday that it will be up to the board to decide what to do at its next monthly meeting slated for Wednesday, April 15.
