Judge throws out lawsuit against businessman Sandy Riley

A Manitoba judge has dismissed a lawsuit he said was partly designed to destroy businessman Sandy Riley’s reputation.

“All of the allegations of sexual assault should be examined in light of Ms. (Susan) Bonk’s personal animus towards Mr. Riley,” Court of King’s Bench Justice Sheldon Lanchbery wrote in a recent decision. “This personal animus became evident once Ms. Bonk lost control of Galton.”

Bonk, a business consultant who co-founded weather monitoring service Precision Weather Solutions with a meteorologist in 2013, filed the lawsuit in 2022. She accused Riley of using his position as board chair of Galton Corp., the parent company of PWS, to try to get her fired after she rebuffed him. She claimed he had touched her in a sexual manner and made advances on her.

Riley, who is CEO and president of Richardson Financial Group, is a member of the Order of Canada and Order of Manitoba.

The board — made up of Riley; Charles Loewen, the former CEO of Loewen Windows and Doors; Bob Silver, owner of Western Glove Works and chairman of the board of FP Canadian Newspapers Ltd. Partnership, the owner of the Free Press; and William Watchorn, former CEO and president of ENSIS Growth Fund — later took control of Galton.

A different judge concluded the board members, who had invested in the corporation, took over after Bonk failed to call meetings and present a business plan.

Bonk’s lawsuit also named Loewen, Silver and Watchorn as defendants but the claim against those men was dismissed last year.

Riley denied the claims of sexual misconduct in court filings and in testimony, saying their meetings were always “professional and cordial” and that it was Bonk who had repeatedly asked him to invest before he finally agreed to give her $500,000.

Riley’s lawyer filed a motion for a summary judgment — allowing the claim to be heard without a full trial — last August. Lanchbery heard the motion in November and granted a summary judgment in Riley’s favour in January, before his written ruling was made public last month.

Lanchbery concluded that Bonk was not credible, while Riley was credible.

“I find Ms. Bonk was not only motivated to recover money against Mr. Riley, but also to destroy his reputation in the eyes of the general public.”

“I find there is animus in this case,” wrote Lanchbery. “I find Ms. Bonk was not only motivated to recover money against Mr. Riley, but also to destroy his reputation in the eyes of the general public.”

The judge pointed to a news story about the lawsuit and allegations in the Globe and Mail in 2023; to complaints Bonk made to securities regulators in Manitoba and the U.S. about the board; and to an account on X that posted allegations from the lawsuits about the defendants in 2022, including the sexual misconduct claims.

The account, called WhatSheSaid, used hashtags related to the #metoo movement.

Bonk denied contacting the press about the lawsuit or being behind the X account, though Lanchbery said he did not buy her explanations.

“It is clear the poster solicited others to join in denouncing conduct per the #metoo movement without permitting Mr. Riley to defend himself,” wrote Lanchbery. “I find Ms. Bonk was either the person who posted on X or was the source of the information set out in the posts.”

She did admit to contacting the Molson Coors’ board of directors, of which Riley is a member, about her allegations against him.

Lanchbery also awarded Riley unspecified court costs.

A lawyer, who at the time represented all four of the men, has told the Free Press that Riley, Loewen, Silver and Watchorn said Bonk’s accusations were fabricated over a dispute involving their $3.5-million investment in Bonk’s company. Their legal action over their investment appears to remain before the court.

All four resigned from the board in June 2018 after they were unable to secure financial disclosure.

In recent years, Galton Corp., PWS and Bonk have been involved in a number of lawsuits in several jurisdictions, largely over investments, both as defendant and plaintiff.

Galton was judged to be bankrupt last year after applying for a bankruptcy order in 2024.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca