Lawsuit dropped against legal firm in judge sex scandal

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This article was published 26/10/2010 (5822 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG – A Winnipeg man at the centre of a sex scandal involving a Queen’s Bench judge and her lawyer husband has dropped a $50 million lawsuit against their former legal firm.

Alexander Chapman revealed Tuesday he is no longer pursuing damages against Thompson Dorfman Sweatmean, where both Justice Lori Douglas and her husband, Jack King, used to work.

Chapman dropped a $7 million lawsuit against Douglas last month, but is still seeking $10 million from King.

King’s lawyer appeared in court Tuesday, arguing Chapman’s case should be dismissed immediately. A decision has been reserved.

Chapman, 44, came forward earlier this year with allegations his former lawyer, King, tried to coerce him into having sex with Douglas while representing him on a divorce case in 2003. He said King also sent him numerous explicit nude photographs of Douglas, who was a lawyer at the time in the same firm.

Douglas was appointed to the Court of Queen’s Bench family division in 2005 but announced days after Chapman’s revelations went public she was temporarily removing herself from the bench pending the ongoing investigation.

King has filed a countersuit against Chapman, alleging he has breached terms of a confidentiality agreement which was struck in 2003. The deal saw King pay Chapman $25,000. In exchange, Chapman agreed to return all photos of Douglas, not seek legal action and not speak publicly about the case.

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Chapman has admitted to signing the deal – and then breaching it – but said he came forward because he believes he is getting unfair treatment from the justice system in several ongoing civil lawsuits he has filed.

Chapman also filed a sexual harassment claim against Douglas with the Canadian Judicial Council. An investigation is ongoing. He made a professional conduct complaint against King to the Law Society of Manitoba, and their review is also ongoing.

Mike McIntyre
Reporter

Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.

Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.