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Judicial Enforcer

September 24, 2012 | No comments

By: Rob Harris

I suppose it could have been more painful for Brad Ashley. Instead of confronting National Hockey League player Matt Cooke in a courtroom, they could have done battle here. As this You Tube clip shows, Mr. Cooke knows how to get his point across.

However, court it was, as Cooke, together with a few neighbors, brought suit against Mr. Ashley regarding the Bayview Golfing Centre that he and his wife own.

The dispute–characterized as a “feud” by news reports–centers around what Cooke and his neighbors claim are “thousands” of golf balls that have besieged their homes from Bayview’s driving range. The court has ordered the facility closed pending relocation of the driving range.

Mr. and Ms. Ashley, believing that their neighbor’s celebrity status contributed to the adverse court result, have posted a large sign:  ‘Range closed for relocation due to lawsuit filed by NHL star Matt Cooke and his wife Michelle and Mario and Stella Mathieu. Sorry for inconvenience.’

You’re a brave man, Mr. Ashley.


 

Warning About Flying Golf Balls Does Not Fly

August 27, 2012 | No comments

By: Rob Harris

Fast food restaurants responded to the infamous McDonald’s hot coffee case by including warnings about the propensity of coffee to burn, creating great material for late night comics.

A creative landowner unsuccessfully attempted a similar disclaimer strategy in seeking approval to build a house adjacent to a golf course. Roger Gray, owner of the Wasaga Sands Golf and Country Club in Canada’s Ontario province, owns a piece of property proximate to the golf course. His attempt to obtain approval from the Ontario Municipal Board was met with resistance.

Objections included projections that the property would be on the receiving end of 160-190 golf balls annually. Mr. Gray responded to this concern by arguing that a warning clause could be included in the sale documents warning of the danger of errant golf balls.

Nice try, Mr. Gray.  Thumbs down from the Board:

“The creation of a new residential lot as is being proposed, would in the Board’s finding, be creating an unsafe condition with no effective mitigation measures being in place to deal with issue of errant golf balls entering private property. Nor does the Board find that a mere warning clause in the proposed deed is sufficient protection for future residents.”

Time for a cup of coffee, Mr. Gray, while you plan the appeal.

 

Student Golfers Caught In Middle Of Labor Dispute

April 26, 2012 | No comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By: Rob Harris

Five hundred high school golfers in British Columbia find themselves the innocent victims of a dispute between the government and the teachers’ union.

The dispute is over legislation called Bill 22, which, if enacted, will prevent teachers from striking and will otherwise limit their collective bargaining rights. The teachers, feeling the need to register their concerns about the proposed legislation, have withdrawn from participating in extracurricular activities, thereby leaving the schools unable to proceed with the all high school golf finals.

 

 

 

Mediator Unfairly Accused Of Bias

March 28, 2012 | No comments

By: Rob Harris

Arbitrators and mediators–like judges–are supposed to appreciate the importance of impartiality. Arbitrators and mediators are called “neutrals” for a reason. The parties must have confidence that the neutral is, well, neutral.

So, imagine my surprise in reading about Charles Jago, a former president of a Canadian university, who has been assigned “the challenging job of mediator” in a dispute between the British Columbia government and its teachers’ union. Mr. Jago apparently shares something in common with the government side of this dispute: the government is controlled by the Liberal Party; Mr. Jago  in recent years has donated $1000 to the party. How can this be?

My apprehension about his neutrality was reinforced by the reaction of the teachers’ union president. When told about Mr. Jago’s contributions, she stated “that would concern me.” “I’m sure he is very accomplished person, but I am concerned about his ability to mediate this dispute and his ability to understand the issues that separate both parties.”

Not to worry. All is well with the universe. Mr. Jago didn’t reach for his wallet out of love for the Liberal Party. Mr. Jago ponied up his money as entry fees for two charity golf tournaments sponsored by the Liberal Party. No bias, just a rational response to an opportunity to tee it up. My faith in the integrity of arbitrators and mediators is restored.

 

Lawsuit Claims Government Wrongfully Seized Golf Course

March 18, 2012 | No comments

By: Rob Harris

The Sechelt Golf and Country Club ostensibly is for sale. Interested buyers can view a marketing video of this facility located in British Columbia.

Before proceeding too far down the purchase road, however, interested buyers should be aware that the club owner has filed suit, claiming that the local Sechelt government improperly seized the course on January 9, claiming that the owner failed to make payments under the leases pursuant to which it operated the facility.

According to the District of Sechelt, the owner owed almost $200,000 at the time the government declared the leases to have been forfeited. The owner’s controlling shareholder–claiming that 250 club members also have an interest–takes a substantially different view. He asserts that “we want the golf course back,” claiming that the District is miscalculating the rent.

Indeed, in its recently filed lawsuit, the club owner contends that, as far back as 2003, the Sechelt governing council revised the formula used to calculate gross revenue upon which the rent was determined. The revised formula allegedly excluded food and beverage sales, golf cart rentals, golf club rentals, golf lessons and pro-shop sales from the calculation of gross revenue. With these items excluded, the owner contends that there is no rent default, and the lease forfeiture was improper.

Confronted with these allegation’s, Sechelt’s mayor was not especially firm with his response, stating that “there has been a tremendous amount of communication back and forth over many, many years, and there are a lot of different interpretations over all manner of things. At this stage, we will let the lawyer and the court address the issues.”

In other words, the situation is muddy. Look for a negotiation. Prospective buyers, put your checkbooks away. This opportunity is going nowhere fast.

 

You Go, Girl

January 24, 2012 | No comments

By: Rob Harris

Elizabeth Roscoe has accomplished much. She was the first woman appointed to the Province’s Family Court, the second woman to be appointed to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, Trial Division, and the first woman appointed to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, Appeal Division which later became the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal. In 2005 she received the Frances Fish Women Lawyers’ Achievement Award.

Tonight, Golf Dispute Resolution recognizes Justice Roscoe with its inaugural Nothing Gets In The Way Of This Judge’s Golf Award.

In March 2008, Justice Roscoe, a multi-sport athlete, was playing badminton in the Halifax Citadel High School gym, when she stepped on a strip of abandoned duct tape, injuring her knee. Surgery for a torn meniscus was required. A lawsuit followed.

Justice Roscoe introduced substantial evidence that the injury had adversely impacted her golf game, making it difficult to walk the entire course.

The court’s decision contained the following findings:

“During the 2008 golf season…she did play golf, from a cart, 46 times. However, she did not play well and did not play as often as she wanted. She missed tournaments because her golf game had become so bad. She was not able to swing the golf clubs properly because it hurt her to do so. … She had to wear a knee brace when she played golf….

“[According to one witness], while on the course, Ms. Roscoe was limping, and, in pain. Further, she was grumpier than she had been before.

“Ms. Roscoe had a preplanned trip to Scotland… Some of the courses did not permit golf carts. Therefore, she had to walk them. She found it difficult. Her group would allow her to putt out first. Then she would go to the next tee-off and sit on the bench waiting for them.”

The court also found that, over time, Justice Roscoe’s condition improved. According to the court, “she plans to return to competitive golf this summer. Her pre-incident handicap was 16. Her handicap is now 17. She … now walks the golf courses, without her brace.”

Recognizing the adversity she faced, the court awarded Justice Roscoe, in addition to her general damages, a sum to compensate her for the cost of renting a golf cart when she was unable to walk.

We congratulate Justice Roscoe on her victory, and applaud her determination and commitment to walking, not riding.

Those interested can read the judicial opinion here.

 

Politician Makes Prudent Investment By Purchasing Golf Clubs With Public Money

January 12, 2012 | No comments

By:  Rob Harris

Hitting my computer screen last night was a 2011 wrap up article entitled “99 Stupid Things The [Canadian] Government Spent Your Money On.” Checking in at #74–two spots ahead of the Toronto city councillor who charged taxpayers $300 to have his office blessed by a Baptist pastor–was an item called “Golf gaffe.”

“Golf gaffe” explained that Carmine Perrelli, an elected official from Richmond Hill, Ontario, submitted a $1,200 charge on his expense account for new golf clubs, shoes and a bag. According to the item, Mr. Perrelli rationalized the expenditure by stating “that said he gets invited to a lot of charity tournaments and that by getting taxpayers to buy him new equipment, he actually saved them money on rentals. He also said the gear remains the property of the city. Who wouldn’t want a pair of old golf shoes?”

Entertaining enough. But the story gets better. Apparently Mr. Perrelli’s sport of choice is not golf but shooting handguns.  As for the economics, Mr. Perrelli was paying $25-45 for rentals for each outing, and, figuring he would be re-elected, the purchase made sense.

So, non-golfer Perelli picked up a set of TaylorMade Burner irons, together with “all the drivers” to round out the set. When told he could have acquired a soup-to-nuts set of Dunlops for $200, Perrelli expressed surprise. “You can’t buy a set of clubs for $200. Whatever … these (TaylorMade) are good clubs that will last, again, saving taxpayers money.”

And, then, it happened. Non-golfer Perrelli, using his new clubs as a public representative at the Alzheimer Society of York Region golf classic, made a hole-in-one, thereby winning a two-year lease from a Toronto Lexus dealership. the cash value of the price was $18,000, which Mr. Perrelli graciously donated to the York Central Hospital Foundation.

While smarter minds than I can perhaps divine an overarching life lesson from the story, I can do no better than a few takeaways:

  • When choosing candidates to include in a story about 99 wasteful government spenders, don’t pick one whose hobby is shooting handguns.
  • If a politician, always speak optimistically about re-election, as it enables you to minimize the per annum cost of questionable expenditures on the public dime.
  • If given the opportunity, always purchase TaylorMade instead of Dunlop.
  • The randomness of the universe is confirmed by those who (don’t) make holes-in-one.