Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc has been ordered to pay $63,055.63 in legal costs after a $450,000 defamation suit he filed against the city and a private resident fell flat.
Leduc has been ordered to pay the City of Greater Sudbury $30,000 and resident Anastasia Rioux $33,055.63.
While the payment to Rioux is a “full indemnity,” meaning it comprises complete legal costs, the payment to the city is a partial indemnity. A city spokesperson clarified this week that their total expenditure on this case was approximately $50,000.
While Leduc told Sudbury.com the legal costs he has been ordered to pay are "extravagant," defendant Rioux said she’s grateful to see what she describes as Leduc’s frivolous lawsuit finally come to an end.
“Rioux’s bill of costs is fair and reasonable in the circumstances," Judge Patrick J. Boucher concluded in his ruling submitted on Tuesday. “The action publicly attacked Rioux’s integrity. Her response was proportionate.”
Leduc’s lawsuit was filed against the city’s Election Compliance Audit Committee and Rioux, an area resident who submitted a complaint to the committee regarding Leduc’s alleged election campaign rule breaches in the 2022 civic election.
There was merit to Rioux’s complaint, the committee determined in 2023, concluding there were “reasonable grounds” to determine Leduc had breached various campaign finance rules in 2022. Their conclusion was supported by a third-party report by KMPG, and they’ve forwarded the case to the provincial offenses system for a final determination.
In his statement of claim for his $450,000 lawsuit, Leduc wrote that Rioux defamed him and that the committee was biased against him and “engaged in unlawful conduct.”
The city’s lawyers contended that the lawsuit should be tossed, as it was “misconceived” and an “abuse of process.” Rioux said Leduc’s lawsuit was an attempt to silence a critic by filing a "blatantly frivolous and vexatious” lawsuit.
Leduc’s defamation suit was ultimately dismissed thanks to “successful anti-SLAPP motions brought by the defendants,” an endorsement by Judge Patrick J. Boucher noted.
SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, and is defined in Rioux’s statement of defence as, “aimed at chilling public discourse generally by discouraging, intimidating, and silencing the defendant and those like her, from exercising their legal right to free speech and lawful public participation on matters of public interest.”
In conversation with Sudbury.com on Wednesday, Leduc clarified that he withdrew the case because it was delaying the Election Compliance Audit Committee’s work investigating his 2022 campaign expenses, which he wants to see come to a conclusion.
“The judge hadn’t made any decisions or rulings with regard to anything,” he said of the SLAPP.
Further, Leduc said the Law Society of Ontario has been in contact with him regarding his lawyer, Timothy Harmar (who was at one point last year administratively suspended, according to Boucher’s ruling). Late last year, Leduc sought legal expenses through Harmer after the lawyer allegedly ghosted him and failed to show up for appearances.
Boucher’s ruling on Tuesday concluded that he was “not persuaded Timothy Harmar caused unreasonable costs to be incurred.”
Further, Boucher’s decision reads, “Save for some brief administrative court attendances, the costs incurred by the defendants (City and Rioux) were a result of the action commenced by the plaintiff (Leduc) and the successful motions brought by the defendants, which the plaintiff chose to defend until the eleventh hour.”
In his ruling, Boucher wrote that Rioux’s complaints met the test of public interest, as the public “has an interest in the conduct of candidates for public office and elected officials, where, as here, allegations are raised regarding their use of public funds and compliance with election finance legislation.”
Leduc’s defamation case “does not have substantial merit,” Boucher wrote, Rioux’s submissions to the committee were privileged and her comments to media “were substantially true, justified and fair comment.”
Boucher also granted the City of Greater Sudbury’s motion to dismiss the case.
In a written statement she provided to Sudbury.com in reaction to Tuesday’s ruling, Rioux said her complaint with the Election Compliance Audit Committee “was rooted in a strong belief in fairness and adherence to the established rules that regulate campaign finances. I never imagined that respecting due process would lead to a lawsuit intended to silence me.”
She said she’s grateful the case is finally over and thankful for those who supported her throughout the legal process.
“Speaking up is never an easy choice and it often comes with personal and financial consequences,” she said. “I can only imagine how overwhelming this would be for someone without the financial resources to fight a SLAPP suit.”
On this front, she said there needs to be stronger protections in place for those who speak up in matters of public interest.
“I sincerely hope this lawsuit doesn't discourage citizens from standing up for what is right and just in the future, out of fear of retaliation,” she said.
Boucher’s ruling roundly supports Rioux’s assertion that she was following the processes afforded to her, concluding she was “a ratepayer lawfully seeking a determination of whether an incumbent municipal councillor had conducted himself in accordance with municipal election finance laws.”
The election compliance case against Leduc remains unresolved. Although a timeline is still unknown, the province noted that prosecution related to the 2022 election must be commenced before Nov. 15. The next municipal election will be held on Oct. 26.
Separate from this is a $29,500 lawsuit Leduc filed against the city after he was docked 30 days’ pay for alleged Code of Conduct breaches in 2023. City communications staff said they were unable to provide comment on this matter because the matter is ongoing.
It’s unclear whether Leduc is seeking re-election in October, as he declined comment when Sudbury.com asked the question earlier this week.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.