Earlier this week, prosecutors filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, hoping a decision by the provincial Court of Appeal will be overturned.
On Nov. 4, a Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal panel in St. John’s upheld a decision by a trial judge to stay charges against the former lead hands at Hickman Equipment.
The court had reviewed a February 2015 decision of Justice Carl Thompson of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, staying charges against former Hickman Equipment general manager Hubert Hunt, vice-president of sales William Parsons, chief financial officer Gary Hillyard and sales manager John King.
The men faced, collectively, 16 counts of fraud, along with single counts of conspiracy to commit fraud, falsifying books and circulating a false prospectus, based on the results of investigations in the wake of the company’s insolvency and bankruptcy.
In the provincial appeal decision, Court of Appeal judges Gale Welsh and Malcolm Rowe found that Thompson’s decision to stay the charges given pre-trial delay was appropriate.
But there was a dissenting opinion from Lois Hoegg, opening the door for a Supreme Court of Canada appeal.
Thompson had ruled that the delay amounted to an abuse of process and a breach of the Charter rights of the accused men.
The charges were rooted in the insolvency and bankruptcy of Hickman Equipment in 2002. The superintendent of bankruptcy requested an investigation 10 years before charges were ultimately laid. The investigation extended from allegations the business had sold equipment out of trust — carried out financial transactions using equipment the company didn’t truly own — and falsified records.
The Hickman Equipment bankruptcy remains one of the largest in the province’s history.
More than $93 million in company losses were left to the company’s creditors to swallow. The company was $113 million in debt when it went out of business.
In her dissenting opinion, Hoegg highlighted the huge amount of material and time-consuming investigation required in the case.
“The investigation involved many transactions, many people, many locations and much time. In short, it was both complex and massive. To describe it as less would be disingenuous,” she stated.
In terms of evidence, documents were gathered by police from 306 locations, Hoegg noted, with search warrants and production orders required. There were interviews of 250 to 300 witnesses throughout Canada and the United States. The disclosure package developed by the Crown included 734,000 documents.
That said, speaking generally of the type of charges and investigation involved, Hoegg stated an upholding of the original decision carried its own risks.
“Complicated commercial crime is most often committed by persons in positions of power and influence and blessed with financial resources. Staying criminal charges in such cases translates into a pass for perpetrators of these crimes and could even be understood to widen the gap between the haves and have nots in our society and affect the perception that everyone is entitled to be treated equally before and under the law.
“Upholding the judge’s decision in this case amounts to an advance declaration that the most complicated, sophisticated crimes will not be prosecuted. To my mind, this result tarnishes and seriously compromises the integrity of the justice system, and accordingly would not establish abuse of process.”
Hoegg found the delay specific to the Hickman Equipment case was legitimate, based on the “massive and complex investigation” involved.
No date has been set yet to argue the case at the Supreme Court of Canada.
With files from Ashley Fitzpatrick
Earlier this week, prosecutors filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, hoping a decision by the provincial Court of Appeal will be overturned.
On Nov. 4, a Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal panel in St. John’s upheld a decision by a trial judge to stay charges against the former lead hands at Hickman Equipment.
The court had reviewed a February 2015 decision of Justice Carl Thompson of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, staying charges against former Hickman Equipment general manager Hubert Hunt, vice-president of sales William Parsons, chief financial officer Gary Hillyard and sales manager John King.
The men faced, collectively, 16 counts of fraud, along with single counts of conspiracy to commit fraud, falsifying books and circulating a false prospectus, based on the results of investigations in the wake of the company’s insolvency and bankruptcy.
In the provincial appeal decision, Court of Appeal judges Gale Welsh and Malcolm Rowe found that Thompson’s decision to stay the charges given pre-trial delay was appropriate.
But there was a dissenting opinion from Lois Hoegg, opening the door for a Supreme Court of Canada appeal.
Thompson had ruled that the delay amounted to an abuse of process and a breach of the Charter rights of the accused men.
The charges were rooted in the insolvency and bankruptcy of Hickman Equipment in 2002. The superintendent of bankruptcy requested an investigation 10 years before charges were ultimately laid. The investigation extended from allegations the business had sold equipment out of trust — carried out financial transactions using equipment the company didn’t truly own — and falsified records.
The Hickman Equipment bankruptcy remains one of the largest in the province’s history.
More than $93 million in company losses were left to the company’s creditors to swallow. The company was $113 million in debt when it went out of business.
In her dissenting opinion, Hoegg highlighted the huge amount of material and time-consuming investigation required in the case.
“The investigation involved many transactions, many people, many locations and much time. In short, it was both complex and massive. To describe it as less would be disingenuous,” she stated.
In terms of evidence, documents were gathered by police from 306 locations, Hoegg noted, with search warrants and production orders required. There were interviews of 250 to 300 witnesses throughout Canada and the United States. The disclosure package developed by the Crown included 734,000 documents.
That said, speaking generally of the type of charges and investigation involved, Hoegg stated an upholding of the original decision carried its own risks.
“Complicated commercial crime is most often committed by persons in positions of power and influence and blessed with financial resources. Staying criminal charges in such cases translates into a pass for perpetrators of these crimes and could even be understood to widen the gap between the haves and have nots in our society and affect the perception that everyone is entitled to be treated equally before and under the law.
“Upholding the judge’s decision in this case amounts to an advance declaration that the most complicated, sophisticated crimes will not be prosecuted. To my mind, this result tarnishes and seriously compromises the integrity of the justice system, and accordingly would not establish abuse of process.”
Hoegg found the delay specific to the Hickman Equipment case was legitimate, based on the “massive and complex investigation” involved.
No date has been set yet to argue the case at the Supreme Court of Canada.
With files from Ashley Fitzpatrick