Justice W. D. Jenkins of the Superior Court of Ontario wrote that Bourdeau's "accusations are serious and not frivolous" and that he "should not be prevented from pursuing them by the costs of this motion which was settled by consent."
He is leaving it up to the trial judge to establish costs when the central lawsuits are settled.
The trial judge earlier awarded Gray's lawyers more than $82,000 when he threw out an Anton Piller motion by lawyer Donald Good of Ottawa. The Anton Piller motion is like a search warrant, seeking the electronic files Bourdeau took from Gray. The size of that award is under appeal.
The recent decision in London indicates there are about one million documents at issue. The trial judge has given the lawyers time to sort out which of those documents ought to be allowed into the lawsuits filed by Svante Lind of Best Choice Eggs against Gray, Burnbrae Farms Limited and the Ontario egg board.
 |
| Dave Williams |
 |
| Allison Webster |
Bourdeau says in his court filings that Gray is using court actions to try to intimidate and bankrupt him so he won't testify as a witness in Lind's lawsuits and won't continue to help law enforcement and government officials.
Gray's lawyers are running up bills at the rate of $515 per hour for Dave Williams and $350 per hour for Allison Webster.
The recent set of documents from the court in London indicate that Bourdeau sent a 170-page petition to the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission, seeking an inquiry, and then sent the same documents to the Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council and the Egg Farmers of Canada national marketing agency.
None of them appear to be taking any action to get to the bottom of the allegations that Justice Jenkins describe as "serious and not frivolous."
Gray's lawyers call the allegations "false," but don't say which ones nor why. They do say that the information in the documents could do the company serious financial harm.
Bourdeau also shared information with 191 Ontario egg producers, explaining why he filed a "consent" to the court action Gray's lawyers filed against him. He was under court order to stop disseminating information.
Under cross examination, John Leitch, chief financial officer, and Scott Brookshaw, vice-president of operations, for L.H. Gray testified that the company has not lost any suppliers as a result of Bourdeau's information and allegations.
Although Gray says he has not engaged in any wrongdoing, Bourdeau alleges in court documents that he manipulated automatic egg-grading equipment so up to five per cent of the eggs that should be Grade A were cracks. That, he said, is worth about $25 to $30 million a year and he says it went on for years.
As a result of publicity about Bill Gray's e-mails, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has ordered its inspectors to stop giving companies advance notice of when they are coming. The agency is responsible for ensuring the integrity of egg grading.
