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ARTICLE · 08 APRIL 2013

Submitting A Fake Judgment: Not A Good Litigation Strategy

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
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Did the plaintiffs in "D’Souza v Linton", 2013 ONSC 70, think Justice Penny just wouldn’t notice?

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration

Did the plaintiffs in D'Souza v Linton, 2013 ONSC 70, think Justice Penny just wouldn't notice? Apparently: as part of their motion materials in a dispute over a real estate transaction, they submitted a default judgment against the defendants purportedly issued by the hand of that very judge.

As Justice Penny pointed out, the matter had never come before him, and the plaintiffs could not for the life of them produce the original endorsement (signed with the judge's invariable blue ink). What they had done, in fact, was get creative with a computer, paste a copy of the judge's signature on the doctored document and file a photocopy of that. Copies of the fake judgment were sent to the Law Society, the Real Estate Commission and the Financial Services Commission in support of complaints against various opposing parties. The result of this 'scurrilous and fraudulent attack on the administration of justice': full indemnity costs to the defendants and no ability for the plaintiffs to take further steps until those costs have been paid.

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