>>Cocaine-addicted man files court claim, suing alleged dealers for damages
GREG JOYCE
VANCOUVER (CP) - A man who became a slave to crack cocaine is
suing his alleged dealers, claiming they "owed a duty of care" to their
customers and should have known their activities could cause harm. The
case also involves the RCMP and claims of payouts to the defendants of
almost half a million dollars, according to the plaintiff's statement of claim.
Jay Martin says in his claim, filed in B.C. Supreme Court in Nelson, B.C.,
that the RCMP arrested and charged the defendants with cocaine trafficking
in 1998.
Police then withdrew the charge and paid them more than $440,000 as a
tradeoff for information about a marijuana growing operation, Martin's
statement says.
An officer with the RCMP's drug section in Kelowna refused Wednesday to
discuss the matter.
"The whole case is before the courts and we're not in a position to comment
on that until it's been dealt with by the courts," said Staff Sgt. Glen Richdale.
Martin filed his statement of claim late last month, setting out a long list of
allegations against defendants Dennis Dober and his wife Lois Judith Dober.
The Dobers were not available for comment Wednesday and have not yet
filed a statement of defence. All the allegations against them now must be
supported in court.
Now a 30-year-old who says he is still addicted but under "reasonable
control," Martin claims to have been a crack cocaine customer of the
defendants for the last 11 years.
Their seller-buyer relationship ended in 1999, he says.
Martin, who is seeking unspecified damages, makes several claims in his
court statement, including that the defendants should have shown more care
for their drug-buying customers.
"The defendants owed a duty of care to their customers and specifically to
the plaintiffs, who were persons they might reasonably have known to be
affected by their actions in carrying on their illegal business," the statement
says.
Martin also claims the defendants knew he was addicted to crack "and could
not exercise free will in regard to his cocaine consumption choices."
Kieran Bridge, a spokesman on civil litigation for the B.C. branch of the
Canadian Bar Association, said Wednesday he had never heard of a case
exactly like it before.
"The closest I've ever heard is someone who once claimed he was addicted
to gambling and wanted me to sue the government for allowing casinos," said
Bridge, who advised the potential client against the suit.
The plaintiff in the cocaine case is likely to have to deal with the legal
principle of voluntary risk, he said.
"The only thing he (Martin) will probably face in the defence is the principle
that if you voluntarily undertake some risk, you can't complain if you get hurt
as a result," said Bridge.
"It's pretty hard for any adult to say, 'I didn't realize crack was dangerous or
addictive.' "
But Bridge also said the lawsuit is in some ways similar to the many cases
now before courts all over the world involving cigarette smokers suing
tobacco manufacturers.
Tobacco manufacturers claim people have known for years that cigarettes
are dangerous, said Bridge.
"But crack goes one step further. Everybody knows crack is going to badly
injure you and be highly addictive."
Still, the two are analogous to some extent regarding negligence, he said.
"There's not a contractual relationship (with cigarettes) because tobacco
manufacturers don't sell to smokers," said Bridge.
"You buy them from grocery store so that's a claim in negligence, not in
contract.
"Here, there is a contract to sell crack and buy it, but there's also possibly a
negligence claim."
Despite the legal hurdles of proving his case, Bridge figures Martin might as
well give it his best shot.
"If people are suing cigarette manufacturers, why not sue drug pushers?"
In his statement of claim, the Martin paints a pathetic self-portrait, alleging
that Dennis Dober introduced him to crack cocaine and taught him prepare
the drug for nasal ingestion.
Martin claims he has suffered pain and physical deterioration due to "binges
of crack use, poor nutrition and lack of sleep."
The addiction had left him chronically penniless, he says, "through the payout
of virtually his entire financial income to the defendants . . .resulting in inability
to maintain work, to pay rent, to buy food for himself and his partner and
children." <<
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