Thursday, October 29, 2009

Notice re libel action

As many of you are aware, I am pursuing legal proceedings for defamation against Adrian MacNair, a.k.a. Raphael of Unambiguously Ambidextrous, and also an occasional National Post guest columnist. Although we have both retained lawyers who are discussing the matter, Mr. MacNair has inexplicably began publicizing our confidential discussions on his blog under the guise of seeking funds from his supporters. He has made several comments in both his posts and comments about what has and has not transpired to date in discussions among us and our lawyers. I am advised this is extremely unusual, ethically questionable and makes efforts to resolve the matter without expensive litigation highly problematic.

Unlike Mr. MacNair, I have no intention of trying to divert the hearing of this case from the courts to the blogosphere. However, I cannot stand by and watch him make false statements about my position on the Internet without some response. I will not comment here or elsewhere about my action or discussions between our lawyers, but I wish to respond as follows to Mr. MacNair's most recent statements:

1) At no time has Mr. MacNair ever offered to apologize or made any other kind of offer. Nor is his claim that he was never given a chance to apologize correct, as careful readers of his blog will know. I am gratified, however, by the implication that an apology was called for.

2) His prediction that the litigation will probably "leave him broke" is not grounded in any realistic interpretation of what is currently being discussed by our lawyers. If such occurs, and whether it does is entirely in his hands, it will go down as one of the greatest self-inflicted legal wounds in history.

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