Trooper wins more contempt fines on Thermo Tech
Trooper Technologies Inc TPP
Shares issued 18,140,628
Apr 23 close $1.62
Fri 23 Apr 99
Street Wire
Also Thermo Tech Technologies Inc (TTRIF)
by Brent Mudry
Stan Lis's Trooper Technologies has won mixed
success in its extended contempt-of-court actions
against Thermo Tech Technologies. In a decision
released Friday by the Supreme Court of British
Columbia, Mr. Justice Bruce Cohen imposed a
further fine of $25,000 each against Thermo Tech
Technologies and Thermo Tech Waste Systems for
their repeated flouting of court orders to hand over
engineering papers for its thermophilic composting
plants. The pair finally paid $50,000 in initial
contempt-of-court fines, levied last July, on March 31,
the day before facing Judge Cohen in the latest court
hearing. Trooper, however, lost an attempt to punish
Thermo Tech compost promoter Rene Branconnier
and associate Daniel Cumming with personal
contempt fines. Longtime Thermo Tech compost
promoter Mr. Branconnier is in the midst of resigning
as president and CEO.
In his 13-page decision, Judge Cohen agreed with
Trooper lawyer David Lunny's argument that the
"Thermo Tech defendants once more chose to
manufacture a bogus compliance with the order of
Jan. 20, 1998, rather than comply with it properly"
after the ruling last July. "I find myself in agreement.
. . that the purported compliance by the Thermo Tech
defendants. . . was little more than a repeat, in a
different guise, of the original purported compliance,"
states Judge Cohen. The judge ruled there has to be
a further imposition of fines against the Thermo Tech
companies. Mr. Lunny unsuccessfully argued that Mr.
Branconnier and Mr. Cumming should be held
personally liable and fined for the repeated contempts
of court, because they were "running the show." The
judge ordered the two Thermo Tech companies to pay
their latest $25,000 fines within seven days.
The judge noted that Thermo Tech finally apologized
for its repeated contempts last fall, when chief
financial officer Wayne Hansen tendered a candid
affidavit. Mr. Hansen stated he was "shocked" when
he learned at the end of July that Trooper was
launching yet another contempt application.
The executive, whom the judge noted was not
responsible for the contempt, noted that he assumed
the company's lawyers, O'Neill & Company, had taken
all necessary steps to fully comply with the court
order. "I had become increasingly concerned about
the manner in which our former solicitors were
handling the defence of the claim and this second
contempt application was the straw that broke the
camel's back," stated Mr. Hansen. In the affidavit, the
CFO told the judge that he decided last July that he
had to replace O'Neill and retain rival law firm Clark
Wilson instead.
(c) Copyright 1999 Canjex Publishing Ltd.
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