A judge will make a decision shortly on the contempt of court allegations against the City of Windsor and Town of Tecumseh in regards to court orders surrounding the opt out campaign for the bingo lawsuit.
In February, a Superior Court judge ordered Windsor and Tecumseh to cease their campaign to convince the litigants in a $70-million class action suit to opt out by the May 1 deadline. The lawsuit claims the two municipalities charged excessive licensing fees for charity bingo events dating back to 1993.
The plaintiffs' lawyer alleges the defendants broke the court order by allowing new advertisements to air on local radio stations. In addition, they argue Mayor Drew Dilkens broke the order when he gave an interview regarding the opt-out campaign to a local media outlet.
Brian Radnoff, lawyer for the plaintiffs, says by their interpretation the court's order on January 29 should act as a curtain.
"Anything that was already out there could continue because it was already out there, anything new could not be published or communicated," says Radnoff, partner with Lerners LLP.
The defendants lawyer told the court because there was no new information in the ads they should not be seen as breaking the court order.
The judge is expected to come back with a ruling shortly. If the judge finds the defendants in contempt of court there will be a penalty hearing scheduled.
Radnoff says no matter the decision the entire lawsuit is "a mess."
"This is unprecedented . I'm not aware of any other case in this country, let alone this province where there has been a naked attempt to solicit opt-outs from class members, nothing that even approaches what's going on here. Obviously it's caused significant dispute," says Radnoff.
