Province looks to quash Nygard lawsuit

The provincial government is moving to have convicted sex criminal Peter Nygard’s lawsuit against it thrown out of court.

Former fashion mogul Nygard filed his statement of claim naming a slew of defendants in the Court of King’s Bench in March, over the failed prosecution in Manitoba’s provincial court last fall, which he alleged was the result of abuses of process.

Nygard, who’s in his mid-80s, had been set to stand trial on allegations he sexually assaulted and forcibly confined a woman, who was then 20, at his former corporate headquarters in Winnipeg in 1993, but the charges against him were stayed in October last year.

The judge on the case ruled his right to a fair trial had been breached because of lost evidence.

In a notice motion filed late last month, Manitoba government lawyers argue a judge should toss out the claim against it as well as former Progressive Conservative provincial attorney general Kelvin Goertzen, who, as justice minister, ordered an out-of-province review of the case after Manitoba prosecutors declined to lay sex charges. A Saskatchewan prosecutor later approved the charges that were subsequently stayed.

“The claim against the provincial defendants is doomed to fail and should be struck,” reads the government’s court filing.

A King’s Bench justice will hear the government’s motion next week.

Nygard’s lawsuit alleges the criminal charges were filed only amid “immense pressure” from advocates and extensive media reporting on his case, and accuses officials of abuse of process and negligence.

The province says in its motion that the Supreme Court of Canada has affirmed repeatedly that Crown prosecutors are generally immune from being held liable in civil courts for commencing and proceeding with criminal prosecutions.

The only exception is the argument of malicious prosecution, in cases in which cases were wrongfully brought out of spite or improper motives.

“The tort of abuse of process cannot be founded on a criminal prosecution,” reads the government’s notice of motion.

“The plaintiff has failed to plead material facts to establish this or any reasonable cause of action.”

If a judge decides not to dismiss the claim, the Manitoba government’s motion asks that the judge order the litigation be halted until Nygard’s lawyers properly name the current attorney general as the provincial defendant, rather than the province itself, as provincial law dictates.

Further, the province argues, Nygard has not made any allegations that could support a court action against Goertzen in his personal capacity.

“By naming… Goertzen personally, the plaintiff is proceeding in an improper manner,” reads the province’s court filing.

“He is attempting to circumvent the Department of Justice Act and (Proceedings Against the Crown Act) and to harass… Goertzen for the performance of responsibilities undertaken in the role of the attorney general and/or minister of justice.”

The province’s court papers say the government has given Nygard notice of its position and a reasonable opportunity to amend his lawsuit, but he has declined to do so.

“If this court finds that no reasonable cause of action has been pled, leave to amend should be denied,” reads the filing, which also notes court rules allow judges to make such orders when parties act in an abusive or improper manner.

Nygard’s court filing also names as defendants the City of Winnipeg, the Winnipeg Police Service and its chief, the provincial government of Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Crown attorney who reviewed the case, the complainant in the Manitoba criminal case and a victim’s advocate.

The lawsuit alleges those defendants participated in the alleged abuse of process or of negligence.

Nygard’s lawyers discontinued the lawsuit against the Saskatchewan government and Crown attorney in mid-October.

City officials, the complainant and the victim’s advocate have not yet replied to the claim with statements of defence.

Nygard is currently serving an 11-year sentence in an Ontario prison after he was convicted in September 2024 of sexually assaulting four women at his Toronto corporate headquarters from the late 1980s to the mid-2000s.

He was found guilty in Montreal in July on charges of sexual assault and forcible confinement for offences he committed there in 1997 and 1998, after he accepted a plea deal and did not present any evidence.

United States federal prosecutors in New York charged Nygard in 2020 with nine offences, including sex trafficking and racketeering. He is facing extradition to the U.S. for trial.

erik.pindera@winnipegfreepress.com