Paper wants court to toss defamation suit

The Yukon News has applied for a defamation case against it to be thrown out because of an excessive delay in proceedings caused by its accuser, the paper argues.

The Yukon News has applied for a defamation case against it to be thrown out because of an excessive delay in proceedings caused by its accuser, the paper argues.

Longtime Watson Lake physician Said Secerbegovic brought legal action against the newspaper in 2005, claiming an editorial published in November 2004 made false and malicious statements.

The editorial, written by current News editor Richard Mostyn, refers to a series of reports by CBC radio reporter Nancy Thomson that concerned prescription drug problems in Watson Lake.

Secerbegovic alleges the editorial, titled “The messenger hit again”, injured his character and reputation.

Last month, the News applied to have the proceedings dismissed, and Justice Leigh Gower heard the application in Yukon Supreme Court Monday afternoon.

David Sutherland, the paper’s lawyer, said the litigation against his client should be dismissed because Secerbegovic and his counsel have delayed the case for an inordinate amount of time.

Sutherland told the court that, in February 2005, Timothy Preston, the doctor’s lawyer, informed the News that Secerbegovic would be taking action against the publication.

Preston’s pursuit of litigation was “leisurely” for more than a year, said Sutherland. However, discussions between the two parties came to an end in September 2006, when Sutherland phoned Preston only to learn the lawyer had retired.

He wasn’t informed that any individual lawyer had taken over Secerbegovic’s file.

Sutherland said he had no communication with Secerbegovic’s counsel until May 2009, when he received a letter from Secerbegovic’s current lawyer, David Goult, regarding a settlement proposal.

In court Monday, Goult argued that the delay was caused not by his client but by Sutherland himself.

He said the plaintiff was proceeding along at “a pretty good clip,” and Preston was preparing for examination for discovery, which allows the lawyers to ask questions of the other party to prepare for a trial or settlement.

Yet, Sutherland repeatedly requested the examinations not go ahead until he could obtain CBC documents, and Preston allowed it. Those requests continued, but Sutherland never obtained the documents, said Goult.

Goult said the ball was in Sutherland’s court to move the proceedings along, because Preston was waiting on him to obtain the CBC documents.

Sutherland told the court that, if the matter were to proceed to trial, his client wouldn’t have a fair trial because Sutherland cannot properly prepare a defence.

But Goult asked why, if Sutherland needed the CBC documents to properly prepare, he didn’t obtain them years ago, when he said he would?

After hearing arguments from both parties, Gower reserved his decision.

Secerbegovic has also taken legal action against Thomson. That matter is set for trial in May 2011.