Sunday, May 2, 2010

Court to hear appeal of Conrad Black libel lawsuits

The Internet is not a "no man's land" when it comes to libel, lawyers for Conrad Black say in arguing that six libel lawsuits should proceed in Ontario, where he established his reputation and should be vindicated from statements about his use of Hollinger shareholder money. Lawyers for the media baron turned convicted felon will be in the Ontario Appeal Court on Monday for a hearing on an appeal from the libel action's defendants. Black is attempting to sue members of a special committee of Hollinger International over statements published on the Sun-Times Media Inc. website. Court documents cite in particular a 2004 report from the committee, authored by Richard Breeden, that said the company was a "corporate kleptocracy" while Black was the CEO, that Black "freely used the company's coffers, financed by its public shareholders, to finance (his) own lifestyle," and that Black had "looted" the newspaper publisher of at least $300 million. While Black is serving a 6 1/2-year sentence in a Florida prison for obstruction of justice and three counts of fraud, his lawyers note the allegedly libellous statements "go far beyond the matters for which the respondent was ultimately charged and convicted."

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