Defendant Iain Deane admits all allegations in Donald Best vs. Gerald Ranking civil lawsuit. Iain Deane in default of Ontario Superior Court.
Miller Thomson lawyer Andrew Roman and his client Iain Deane (right)
According to documents filed with Ontario Superior Court in the Donald Best vs Gerald Ranking civil lawsuit, after being personally served with the Statement of Claim and Jury Notice, defendant Iain Deane failed to file a defence or otherwise respond to the court.
Under Ontario Rule 19.02 (1) (a), Deane is deemed to have admitted all of the facts in Mr. Best’s Statement of Claim and has deliberately abandoned his right to defend himself before the Ontario Superior Court in a $20 million dollar lawsuit.
Default (failing to answer a civil lawsuit) is serious business in Canada.
Because Iain Deane abandoned the court process, Mr. Best does not have to serve Deane with any further legal documents. Best’s lawyer Paul Slansky has petitioned the court for a ‘Default Judgement’ against Mr. Deane for 19 million dollars. The case will be heard in June of 2015. In the event of a positive decision for Mr. Best, all of Iain Deane’s personal assets would be at risk to the amount of $19 million dollars. According to some lawyers, even if Iain Deane transferred assets to his spouse or others those assets would still be at risk.
Why would Iain Deane place himself and his assets gained over a lifetime at risk in this manner?
Why would Iain Deane not defend the serious allegations against him?
Why would someone accused of gross violations of criminal law and civil wrongdoing not present themselves before the court? According to evidence filed with the Ontario Superior Court, the plaintiff Donald Best alleges that:
“Iain Deane’s default and failure to file a defence to my Statement of Claim is deliberate and strategic, and that his decision to default came after extensive consideration, almost certainly in consultation with his lawyers and other defendants, as to the possible benefits, consequences and risks of this strategy to default.”
Further, evidence filed with the court states that:
“Iain Deane is aware that he and his co-conspirators face strong evidence implicating them in the overall Campaign and other acts of wrongdoing.
Iain Deane is aware that filing a Statement of Defence or otherwise answering my Statement of Claim would expose him to cross-examination and the production of evidence for the court that would further implicate him and his co-conspirators in the Campaign of harassment, intimidation, violence and other criminal acts. He knows that he and his co-defendants cannot possibly refute the evidence against them,
Iain Deane knows that the evidence against him and his co-conspirators includes irrefutable voice recordings, business records, internet records, court transcripts and legal records showing the commission of various criminal acts in support of the overall Campaign. This knowledge is strong motivation for Iain Deane and other defendants to default, because they know that they have no viable defence, and they do not want to add evidence to the already strong case against them.”
A copy of the Motion Record for Default Judgment against Iain Deane is available at DonaldBest.CA: 20141222 Deane Default Motion (PDF 6.1mb)
As always we remind our readers that none of the allegations has yet been proven in a court of law, and to our knowledge none of the defendants has filed a Statement of Defence. Visitors to this website are encouraged to examine the legal documents and other evidence posted here, to do independent research and to make up their own minds about the civil lawsuit known as ‘Donald Best v. Gerald Ranking et al’. (Superior Court of Justice, Central East Region: Barrie, Court File No. 14-0815)