Canadian seeks $13M for ‘wrongful’ conviction

A $13 million malicious prosecution and negligence lawsuit filed by Robert Baltovich takes aim at a sacred cow — a respected former prosecutor who is now a judge — as well as Toronto police and two former defence lawyers.

Baltovich, 44, who was acquitted two years ago this week of murdering his girlfriend, Elizabeth Bain, alleges two Crown attorneys — John McMahon and Paul Amenta — intentionally failed to disclose key evidence and misused their office, and that Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General is now “vicariously liable” for their conduct.

McMahon is now an Ontario Superior Court judge.

Brendan Crawley, a ministry spokesman, said the civil court process “is open to anyone who chooses to use it — as Mr. Baltovich has chosen to do with respect to this matter.”

But Crawley signalled on Friday that a settlement isn’t likely and the ministry intends to fight the lawsuit. Earlier this year, Attorney General Chris Bentley rejected a request for compensation for Baltovich, who spent seven years in prison for the murder, before the Ontario Court of Appeal quashed his conviction and ordered a new trial in 2004.

Louis Sokolov, a Toronto civil lawyer with expertise in representing the wrongly convicted in claims against government, said Baltovich has a tough battle ahead of him because malicious prosecution claims — always notoriously hard to win — have become more difficult thanks to a recent Supreme Court of Canada decision.

Potential plaintiffs must now have “actual evidence” of malice, Sokolov said.

Baltovich is also suing his two trial lawyers, William Gatward and Michael Engel, for breach of contract, alleging they failed to ask for notes made by investigating officers and failed to follow up on invitations from police to go through investigative files.

At Baltovich’s 1992 trial, they also refused to concede Bain had been murdered. Her body has never been found.

A statement of claim filed on Wednesday by Baltovich’s civil lawyer, Harvey Strosberg, also alleges Toronto police became fixated on Baltovich and failed to follow up on the most natural suspect in the case, Scarborough rapist Paul Bernardo.

None of the allegations has been proven in court.

At Queen’s Park, NDP MPP Peter Kormos (Welland) castigated Premier Dalton McGuinty for not compensating Baltovich and warned Ontario taxpayers will end up forking over more money than if the Liberals had just settled the case.

“Mr. Baltovich was the victim of serious injustice,” Kormos told the Star’s Robert Benzie.

Original report here



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