$8M lawsuit against Robert Miller shouldn't have been tossed out, rules Court of Appeal
Quebec Court of Appeal says lower court judge erred in his ruling
A woman can now proceed with her $8-million lawsuit against Montreal billionaire Robert Miller, after the Quebec Court of Appeal overturned last year's lower court decision to have the legal proceedings tossed out.
In the last two years, Miller, who is 81, has been hit with a long list of accusations of paying minors for sex. The founder of Future Electronics has dealt with civil litigation, including a class action which has received the Superior Court's authorization to proceed.
In one of the civil cases, a woman claims she was 17 when she met Miller and that sexual encounters between them continued for "several years."
In March 2024, a Superior Court judge ruled that her lawsuit could not go ahead because she left a meeting with Miller's legal team and his associate Sam Abrams in 2023 with $50,000 in envelopes and what was described in court documents as a "letter" that served as a transaction receipt.
The Superior Court judge ruled that by leaving with the money and the letter, the woman had essentially agreed to a deal with Miller.
"Consent can be inferred from the behaviour," Justice Marc St-Pierre wrote at the time. "As far as the court is concerned, the complainant departing with the sum of $50,000 cannot be explained otherwise."
In a unanimous decision issued on Thursday, the Court of Appeal said Justice St-Pierre erred in his decision.
"In light of the evidence presented and the facts acknowledged by the judge, he committed a clear and decisive error by coming to the conclusion that a transaction took place on Feb. 20, 2023," the Court of Appeal ruling read.
Last month, a judge ruled Miller was too sick to be tried in criminal court. Miller was facing 24 charges related to sex crimes involving 11 women, most of whom were minors between 1994 and 2016 — the period of time of the alleged offences.
The businessman is also the subject of a class action with more than 50 plaintiffs which was authorized to proceed by the Superior Court. Miller is appealing that authorization and contests the allegations of the suit.
Written by Antoni Nerestant