NNEC lawsuit settlement ‘acceptable to plaintiffs’

Dear Editor,
I am the counsel who represented Rachael Paquette-Flanagan and John Dudley in their claim against Northern Nishnawbe Education Council (NNEC). I received a copy of the Wawatay article printed Feb. 4, 2010.
This article leaves the impression the plaintiffs were unsuccessful.
The statement is made “In the time since the claim was dismissed, an out-of-court settlement was reached,” and the statement is attributed to NNEC counsel John Erickson. I have spoken with him and he confirms to me unequivocally this statement was not made by him and is incorrect.
What happened, in fact, is a matter of days before the trial was to begin, a settlement of all the plaintiffs’ claims was reached.
Because that settlement was made, further action of going to trial was unnecessary.
It was only because an acceptable settlement was reached the claim was then in the court records shown as being dismissed.
The terms of the settlement, including the question of costs was addressed in the settlement documents themselves.
As is normal with settlements, the actual terms of the settlements are not released or made known to the public, but does not change the fact a settlement was reached and it was something far different than simply a dismissal without costs.
The article goes on to further reference that of the forty claims “NNEC denied 22 and admitted six which were of the factual variety.”
It is disingenuous and poor reporting to suggest by this statement only those six claims had merit and to leave the impression that the plaintiffs were unsuccessful.
The reference to six claims that was in the statement of defense and in no way reflects on what the actual settlement was and reporting of this nature smacks of partisanship and having a prior agenda.
Of significant concern is the fact the paper was content to contact counsel for NNEC and leave the impression that because Ms. Paquette-Flanagan had been contacted directly, they had no counsel representing them and had been at a disadvantage and “taken to the cleaners.”
The terms of settlement can not be disclosed, but as counsel for the plaintiffs, I can confirm without hesitation there was a result that was recommended to Ms. Paquette-Flanagan and Mr. Dudley by counsel with over 30 years experience in litigation matters and was acceptable to them.
Donald B. Shanks
Thunder Bay