E-gaming lawsuit could be headed back to P.E.I. Supreme Court

The law firm representing Capital Markets Technologies Inc. says a registered letter was sent this week to P.E.I.'s deputy attorney general providing 90 days' notice the company intends to file a new statement of claim against the provincial government.

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Meanwhile court records show the company paid $732,098 as security to the P.E.I. Supreme Court, satisfying, at least in part, a condition put against any resumption of the case by Justice Gordon Campbell when he tossed out the company's previous $25 million lawsuit.

"We finally received a cheque for the payment of our legal costs from the earlier — and successful — motion to strike out this claim," said Jonathan Coady, a lawyer representing the P.E.I. government, in an e-mail to CBC News.

"Counsel for the plaintiffs has also said that security for our future legal costs has now been deposited with the court."

In its original suit filed in P.E.I. Supreme Court in April of 2015, Capital Markets Technologies accused the P.E.I. government of acting in "breach of good faith" with regards to a memorandum of understanding to develop a financial services centre.

The province denied the claims, and Justice Campbell struck the statement of claim in its entirety in February 2016, calling the document "a long, rambling narrative replete with irrelevant and immaterial facts, evidence, opinion, argument and speculation."

Company free to file new claim

However, he said the company was free to submit a new statement of claim, but only if it provided security of more than $1 million against a possible future award of costs in favour of the defendants.

In addition to the provincial government and a number of former elected officials and civil servants, the original suit named two other parties, both business people: Paul Jenkins and Garth Jenkins.

According to documents filed in court this week, the payment made on behalf of CMT represents security against costs for the province and Paul Jenkins. A lawyer for CMT confirmed security has not been provided with regards to Garth Jenkins. The company says it does not intend to name Garth Jenkins in its new statement of claim.

Under the Crown Proceedings Act, those who wish to bring a suit against the P.E.I. government must provide written notice 90 days before doing so.

In his e-mail, Coady confirmed that CMT has provided notice that they intend to start a new claim with new causes of action. 

"The notice was less than detailed, so we will have to wait and see what the claim is this time around," he said.

"We remain of the view that there is no legal merit to this claim."

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