The Court of Appeal considers that a debate on the prescription in the Gabriel-Ward case is necessary to determine whether Jérémy Gabriel’s mother has the right to sue, like her son, the comedian for damages.
• Read also: The saga between Mike Ward Jérémy Gabriel continues
The legal fight between Jérémy Gabriel and Mike Ward continues to sink into a maze of procedures.
Let us first recall that the highest court in the country had dismissed Jérémy Gabriel, arguing that he had used the wrong vehicle, discrimination, to bring a lawsuit against the comedian when it was rather a case of defamation.
Jérémy Gabriel took the Supreme Court at its word and responded by filing a lawsuit for $288,000 in damages.
Jérémy’s mother also claiming damages for $84,600.
However, judge Manon Gaudreault had refused the lawsuit of the mother judging that the deadlines had expired. The mother had also sued Ward before the Human Rights Tribunal, but this case had been pushed aside while Jérémy’s case went to the highest court in Canada, hence the argument of the limitation period in this case. .
The Gabriel’s lawyer, Mr.e Stéphane Harvey therefore applied to the Court of Appeal to deal with the issue of prescription.
Two appearances in the Court of Appeal
A first quick argument before the Court of Appeal for a motion to dismiss the appeal filed by Ward’s lawyers was therefore made so that this argument on the limitation period would be dismissed quickly, on its face.
However, three judges of the Court of Appeal decided otherwise.
Rather, they felt that a substantive debate should be held. “We are of the opinion that the appeal should be allowed to continue”, decided the three judges in a judgment made on the bench which is not further motivated.
Me Harvey concedes that it is a “small victory”, but recalls that if the judges had accepted this request, the whole file would have ended. “It could have ended there”, explains the lawyer.
“The appeal deserves to continue on the merits,” explains the lawyer.
A second passage to hear the arguments of the two parties on the issue of prescription will therefore have to take place in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Jérémy Gabriel’s $288,000 lawsuit is suspended before the Superior Court until all this debate is heard.
Remember that this saga dates back more than 10 years when the comedian made a joke about “little Jérémy”, a child singer with Treacher Collins syndrome.