As this week is going to be crazy busy work-wise, I'm going to get this monthly opus out of the way a few days early, and there's quite a lot to talk about so make yourself comfortable because here is your chance to help nail undischarged bankrupt and financial fugitive Patrick "Superfly Chick Magnet Helllloooo Ladies" Ross to a wall.
And here's where I explain what I've been pondering for a while, and it's that rather than let Patrick continue to skate on this, I am going to lower the boom and you are more than invited to help.
As usual, it is now another month that Patrick has racked up several hundred dollars in debt to me as the interest keeps piling up, it now being a full 34 months since a judge told Patrick how much he owes me and cranked up the interest rate to a delightful five per cent per annum:
And here's where I explain what I've been pondering for a while, and it's that rather than let Patrick continue to skate on this, I am going to lower the boom and you are more than invited to help.
First, there is the issue of where Patrick is hanging his cowboy hat these days, as recent photographic evidence suggests he is back in the Lloyd at Casa Ross, at least part of the time:
so this brings us to the first item on the TO DO list.
I want to resolve whose truck that is, and how often it hangs out at Casa Ross, so I'm looking for someone local to Lloydminster, SK to do drive-bys on a regular basis and keep notes on when it's there and when it isn't and so on. What I need is surveillance, and not just on an occasional basis as I want to understand the visitation patterns of that vehicle. If that is indeed Patrick's Chevy Avalanche, it's critical to know if it's there in the daytime, in the evening, or both, and also if it's there during the week (suggesting Patrick has a job in Lloyd if he has a job at all), or only on the weekend (suggesting he might be commuting to, perhaps, Grande Prairie, AB).
This is why I really need someone local to that area -- I need to understand the pattern of presence of that vehicle and, if possible, who accompanies it. And all of this can be done perfectly legally as long as one remains on public property. So if you have the wherewithal to do this, yes, I'm willing to compensate you for your trouble, but understand that I need regular eyes on that place for this to work. (Obviously, it would be useful to know if Patrick is seen driving around town as well, but that's just a bonus.) And there's more.
A major reason for wanting to know if that's Patrick and whether he's actually living there is that I'm preparing to drop some legal paperwork on him, and I'd like to verify where he lives to make sure the process server doesn't waste time looking for him. I was originally happy to just leave Patrick in legal limbo, but I've decided that I want to stomp on him and this is part of the preparation. So here's my plan.
Once I have everything ready to go, I'm going to file a motion to dismiss his idiotic defamation lawsuit against me, the basis for that dismissal being a pile of reasons. On top of the issue of whether Patrick even has standing to sue given that he is an undischarged bankrupt without a trustee, he has a number of other problems to deal with.
First, his moronic lawsuit listed as one of my "co-defendants" a still-unidentified "John/Jane Doe" -- unidentified after almost two years. As if that wasn't silly enough, much of the Statement of Claim does not even complain about me; rather, it documents the alleged defamation and harassment originating from other parties, so it's not even clear what sense that makes.
Also, Patrick's biggest hurdle is that he now owes me over $120,000 and has made no effort to resolve this, so my most forceful argument is going to be that, if Patrick truly wants to proceed with this dumbass lawsuit, he first needs to pay me off in full. I've been advised that this is an extremely persuasive argument, as the Court really doesn't like to let someone refuse to pay costs or judgment while allowing them to continue to file frivolous actions. In short, I will be arguing vociferously that not only is Patrick's lawsuit against me of no merit, but if he really and truly wants to move ahead with it, he should first pay off his debt to me in full so that we have a level playing field financially.
(Side note: I will also argue that, given Patrick's evasion of his financial obligations all these years, he needs to turn over some serious change in surety -- say $25,000. That would be on top of paying me off in full, but that's a separate issue.)
So that's what I'm thinking these days -- the plan is to file to dismiss Patrick's lawsuit for a number of reasons or, in the alternative if Patrick is still determined to go down this road, have the Court order Patrick to first do all of the following:
- Submit an amended Statement of Claim that restricts itself exclusively to claims against me, with no reference to other parties (named or anonymous),
- Pay me in full what he owes me (over $120,000), and
- Hand over significant surety (say, $25,000).
Which brings us to the final part of this opus ... that since Patrick filed this idiocy at the courthouse in Grande Prairie, AB, I'm looking for a recommendation for a lawyer somewhere in that area to assist me in all of this. I already know what I want my filing to say so I'm after someone to just help me format documents, make sure everything is in the proper format, help me with filing and so on. Effectively, I could make do with a paralegal who would know how all this works, so if anyone has any recommendations, let me know.
So, to sum up, if any of my regular readers want to be of assistance, I'm looking for people to report on any regular goings-on at Casa Ross in Lloydminster, and I'm looking for someone to assist me in putting together the appropriate filings to kick Patrick's ass at the courthouse in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Lines are open.
P.S. I will most likely be adding random thoughts to this post, so check back on a regular basis.
AFTERSNARK: There is one other request I will be making of the Court with respect to all of this. As regular readers will know, Patrick seems convinced that, even as an undischarged bankrupt without a trustee, he has the standing to file lawsuits. Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't, but it seems that it would be only reasonable to ask the Court to schedule an earlier hearing at which Patrick can make that argument, the point being that if the Court does not agree with him, this whole action vanishes.
So I will be asking the Court to order Patrick to attend a preliminary hearing at which Patrick can -- at his own expense -- make that argument, and then we can all see just how persuasive is Patrick when presenting his scintillating legal analysis to an actual judge. I've seen this, and it rarely ends well for Patrick, but he's welcome to give it a shot.
UPPITY DATE: A private correspondent makes a tantalizing suggestion -- rather than try to co-ordinate one or more confidential informants to track the comings and goings at Casa Ross, it might be more productive and cost-effective to just hire a Lloyd-based private investigator to make a few passes by the place and take notes.
It's unlikely to take more than a few hours of investigative work, as we already know the address, the vehicle of interest, what Patrick looks like and so on and, let's face it, Patrick is not exactly an evil genius, so a few hours of sleuthing might be all that's necessary to figure out what's happening.
In addition, a PI can certainly be hired to canvass the immediate neighbours and ask them what they've seen. Put all that together and I think this might actually be the most effective approach, so if anyone has a recommendation for a PI in the Lloydminster area -- ideally near Casa Ross -- drop me a note at canadiancynic@yahoo.ca. And let the gumshoeing begin.
7 comments:
I would be inclined to act as though Patrick is “acting in good faith” and send the servers to the address on the lawsuit. Knowing full well that’s going to fail, of course.
Then, you have concrete evidence that he is either:
A). Deliberately evading service … or …
B). No longer resides at the service address … or …
C). If the documents are accepted, you know where he is residing (unlikely … very unlikely)
In any event you end up with sworn evidence of his status which you can then use to bolster your arguments that this lawsuit is abandoned and should be dismissed.
Patrick seems all too happy to leave people hanging in legal limbo while he does a protracted duck-and-weave act to avoid his own responsibilities.
Just an observation, but this lawsuit appears to be more of an attempt to re-litigate the suit he lost in 2012 rather than a bona fide defamation case. As such, there is probably good reason to suspect that it is not only meritless, but in fact his failure to move it forward are little more than evidence that he knows it lacks merit and he is using it as a weapon to tie up your time and energy.
MgS: Note that I am not asking that Patrick's lawsuit be dismissed as "abandoned" -- that requires someone to have done nothing to move it along for quite an extended period of time, and the court is normally *really* lenient in how much time they allow. If I tried that, the best I could expect is that the court would not dismiss it, but would likely order Patrick to get a move on and set some deadlines. Not what I'm after.
Rather, I'm asking it to be dismissed for utter lack of merit or, in the alternative (as you can see), asking the Court to order Patrick to pay his debts before allowing it to go forward. One way or the other, I'm going to force Patrick's hand so he either comes up with a ton of money, or his lawsuit is dead in the water.
I will ponder how to work his inheritance into all of that, especially if it involves the house.
By the way, it wasn't that long ago that I offered Patrick the chance to get out from under all of this for the low, low price of $40,000. Predictably, he sniffed disdainfully at that offer and blew me off. Ah, the road not taken.
If you can afford it, I'd go the PI route, that makes it more official and they'll keep records that will be admissible in court. And it would definitely be worth knocking on some doors and asking the neighbours about who they've seen coming and going. A PI will also have access to records that will show who owns the vehicle, and they can even do title searches to clarify who owns the property.
It shouldn't cost all that much, sounds pretty straightforward, no more than a few hours of work. I'd recommend it.
+1 on the private investigator. Not only do they know what they're doing, but they won't put up with any of Patrick's shit about them illegally violating his privacy. If Patrick comes charging out of his house to berate them, they will diplomatically but forcefully tell him to go pound sand.
Pay the money. And let us all know how that turns out.
OK, I'm convinced ... I'm going to hire a PI to track down what is happening in Lloydminster and with Patrick. I've already collected a few numbers to call tomorrow, but if anyone has *personal* recommendations, drop me a line,and we can get this started. It's time to finish that fucker.
I hear that Rockford fella is pretty good. And cheap.
"$100.00 a day plus expenses."
Just showing my age.
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