Canadian court approves mans bid to sue ex-wifes divorce lawyer
Publish date: 28 February 2005
Issue Number: 1285
Diary: Legalbrief Today
Category: General
The Ontario Court of Appeal has given the go ahead for a lawsuit that accuses a Toronto lawyer of counselling her client to fabricate evidence in a bitter divorce contest to go to trial.
The Globe and Mail reports Andrew Lawrence alleges that he was wrongly imprisoned for almost 10 days after his estranged wife, Carol Lawrence, made up several stories about him assaulting her. He says that family lawyer, Theresa MacLean, advised his ex-wife to make up stories of domestic abuse to enhance her divorce claims to their marital home and children. The Appeal Court ruling overturns an Ontario Superior Court judgment, saying the suit could not go ahead. The Appeal Court said the allegations were arguably capable of implicating MacLean in false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, abuse of process and civil conspiracy. Full report in The Globe and Mail