http://www.stockwatch.com/swnet/new...x?bid=B-560530-C:CGS&symbol=CGS&news_region=C
CanWest's Sun argues lawyer bill from Robbins trial
2006-05-18 13:53 ET - Street Wire
by Stockwatch Business Reporter
The Vancouver Sun and self-help guru Tony Robbins are back in B.C. Supreme Court in what could be the costly aftermath of a highly publicized two-month libel trial from last summer. Although Mr. Robbins won $20,000 in damages against The Sun for a story about him and his wife, the real cost of the trial will be in the lawyers' bills.
Mr. Robbins sued The Sun and other media outlets in 2001 for a story about his wife Bonnie and her divorce from Langley man John Lynch. Mr. Robbins claimed the story, which has since been pulled from all on-line sources, called him a wife-stealing hypocrite.
With both parties having deep pockets, the legal bickering went on for four years before a prolonged 27-day trial. Mr. Robbins racked up $750,000 in legal bills by one estimate.
At the end of the trial, the judge, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Paul Williamson, left the question of costs open. He said he would hear from the lawyers on costs after he issued his judgment.
The $20,000 judgment, which came down last November, was a very modest victory for Mr. Robbins. It was so modest that Sun lawyer Rob Anderson said in court today that The Sun "won the event." The Robbins camp undoubtedly disagrees. His lawyers published a news release saying the lawsuit was never about the money, it was about vindication.
Nevertheless, both sides were in court today arguing about who will pay Mr. Robbins's legal bill. Most of the argument appears to revolve around who wasted more time in the trial, The Sun or Mr. Robbins.
Mr. Robbins's lawyer, West Vancouver libel specialist Roger McConchie, says The Sun used up most of the trial in a futile attempt to prove the truth of its story. "The plaintiff cannot be held liable for that wasted time," he says.
The Sun, in the trial, tried to prove justification, or the truth of its story. Mr. McConchie says it should have become obvious that was a waste of time when The Sun's source for the story, Abbotsford resident Gary Carlsen, apologized and admitted he and Mr. Lynch lied to The Sun.
Sun lawyer Mr. Anderson, however, disagrees. He points the finger back at the other side, saying Mr. Robbins's lawyers used up about three-quarters of the trial on two points The Sun won, the key issues of wife-stealing and malice, or spite.
The wife-stealing allegation was a victory for The Sun. It turned out to be a non-starter with Judge Williamson, who relied at least partly on the dictionary definition of theft. He said it is "devoid of reason" to conceive how somebody could steal another's wife in modern society. "Even if not taken literally, the notion implies a lack of independent will or consent on the part of the 'stolen' spouse," he said.
The issue of malice, or spite, is a little more complicated. As Mr. Robbins's lawyer points out, the judge found Sun reporter Jeff Lee was somewhat reckless in not checking up on some of the things Mr. Carlsen told him. However, the judge stopped short of finding Mr. Lee did so out of malice for Mr. Robbins.
Mr. Anderson seized on this, saying Mr. Robbins's lawyers spent at least half the trial trying to argue the malice point. Mr. Anderson also made much of the fact that Mr. Robbins himself did not testify as expected.
The debate over costs, like the actual trial, appears headed for overtime. Although only slated for two days, Wednesday and Thursday, the lawyers already expect it will go into Friday, so no early long weekend for them.