SAINT-LAMBERT, QC, Aug. 27, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - Mr. Eddy Savoie has decided to appeal the ruling handed down on August 15, 2014 by Judge Gary Morrison of the Superior Court of Québec, which awards Mrs. Pierrette Thériault-Martel nearly $90,000 for her legal fees, $10,000 in moral damages and $200,000 in punitive damages. This is the highest amount of punitive damages ever granted in similar cases in Québec.
Mr. Savoie is not contesting, and never has contested, the right to make criticisms, despite everything that is being said. In fact, he simply maintained in front of the court that false and defamatory comments about him had been made by Mrs. Thériault-Martel. This was in fact definitely confirmed under cross-examination. The court ought to have taken this into account before imposing any sanction on him. The Superior Court judge nevertheless refused to take Mrs. Thériault-Martel's behaviour into consideration, despite the obvious proof that her comments regarding Mr. Savoie were false. We reiterate that Mr. Savoie never gave caregivers or anyone else the shameful order to stop changing the diapers of the residents of the CHSLD Saint-Lambert-sur-le-Golf in a case of gastroenteritis because the budget was "busted", as Mrs. Thériault-Martel falsely stated.
From a legal point of view, the courts always require that persons seeking redress at court have "clean hands", that is, have nothing to reproach themselves for in the matter in question. However, in this case, that was a factor that was not even examined.
Mr. Savoie declared today that "apart from the overweening amount of the judgement, what is more important to me is that the judge did not take into account the substance of the case, that is, the defamatory comments uttered by Mrs. Thériault-Martel, even though they were proven to be false. Justice must take into account the behaviour of both parties." The judge was unwilling to take Mrs. Thériault-Martel's misconduct into account.
Mr. Savoie continued, saying that "this is not a vendetta on my part against Mrs. Martel. What I want is for the Court of Appeal to review the matter and confirm whether the Superior Court can impose a penalty without taking into account the defamatory comments that initially precipitated the suit. I believe that it is in the interest of all citizens to find that out, and myself in particular. Like the extended family that is supporting me, I still have great confidence in the justice system."
SOURCE: Groupe Savoie
Groupe Savoie, (450) 449-1516, [email protected]
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