Decision on JP's legal fees comes down to conduct, facts

Decision on JP's legal fees comes down to conduct, facts

October 25, 2016

Although it makes sense that the Divisional Court referred the issue of whether a former justice of the peace should have to pay his own legal costs back to the review panel for reconsideration, the 'egregious' facts in this case will likely result in the man paying his own costs, Toronto litigator Sean Lawler tells Law Times.

As Law Times reports, Justice of the Peace Errol Massiah was removed from office in April 2015 after a second panel of the Ontario Justice of the Peace Review Council found his behaviour in two provincial courthouses demonstrated a “pattern of inappropriate conduct toward women in the justice system.”

As the article notes, Massiah's first hearing before the Justice of the Peace Review Council ended in 2012 with a 10-day suspension without pay "after the panel found his sexual innuendos and comments on the appearance of court clerks made them uncomfortable."

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