As many of you know, I am being sued by Ray Sasseville, Joan Hansen and Sturgis North.
They claim, my reporting of the doings of their CEO Ray Sasseville is defamatory, libellous and preventing them from earning a living in the motorcycle community.
Visit my defense fund page for all the information on everything I have ever written on them including the evidence I am allowed to share publicly.
According to my attorney, Ray wants to drop the suit as it pertains to the City of Sicamous, the Mayor of Sicamous and the Sicamous Chamber of Commerce. So we shall see how that ends up.
The hearing to move the case to Salmon Arm happens on the 31st of March.
My research assistant and I have continued to investigate Sturgis North and all of it's various names and owners including the newly trademarked Sturgis Canada. The trademark went through on February 28th of 2014.
Apparently because Sturgis SD never registered their trademark internationally (meaning here in Canada), Mr. Sasseville has all the right to use the name Sturgis and now that he's trademarked, there can be no question.
I came across interesting news from Jonathon Sasseville, one of Ray's three sons, on Plenty of Fish, a dating site. He claims to be the head of security and part owner of Sturgis Canada.
They claim, my reporting of the doings of their CEO Ray Sasseville is defamatory, libellous and preventing them from earning a living in the motorcycle community.
Visit my defense fund page for all the information on everything I have ever written on them including the evidence I am allowed to share publicly.
According to my attorney, Ray wants to drop the suit as it pertains to the City of Sicamous, the Mayor of Sicamous and the Sicamous Chamber of Commerce. So we shall see how that ends up.
The hearing to move the case to Salmon Arm happens on the 31st of March.
My research assistant and I have continued to investigate Sturgis North and all of it's various names and owners including the newly trademarked Sturgis Canada. The trademark went through on February 28th of 2014.
Apparently because Sturgis SD never registered their trademark internationally (meaning here in Canada), Mr. Sasseville has all the right to use the name Sturgis and now that he's trademarked, there can be no question.
I came across interesting news from Jonathon Sasseville, one of Ray's three sons, on Plenty of Fish, a dating site. He claims to be the head of security and part owner of Sturgis Canada.
I wonder what his investment in the company is.
Before the lawsuit I was still investigating the doings of the people involved with Sturgis North now Sturgis Canada and I intend to continue following them to see if the little people from year's one and two of this event will ever get paid off.
It will be interesting to see if we ever learn who the new investors are in Sturgis Canada and what kind of bands they line up, they say there will be a big announcement on the 19th of March.
Writing about them is a double edged sword for me as I am giving them airtime I would rather not, but I still have a defense fund that needs help and letting you all know that I am not giving up in my pursuit of the truth is important to me.
I need to sell 224 more tee shirts to pay my lawyer this month and will need to raise the same for next month, then I should have a lull until we get to court.
My lawyer asked me about a countersuit but from what I have seen in the court documents, even when you win a case with these people, it appears that collecting is rather, difficult. The lawsuit launched by Ray's wife Edith as the Power of Attorney for Marjorie Sasseville (Ray's Mother from what I am told), has gone nowhere and it's for $140,000.
Michael Smith's lawsuit was won but from what I am lead to understand he has not been able to collect as of yet, that one is for $70K and there has been no movement on the Vernon Motoplex suit which is for somewhere around $450K.
And so, the Lawsuit Saga Continues....
My head is spinning with all of this.
I never started this fight but I will tell you that I want my day in court and to have a judge tell me I have done my job properly. I want to see the people who are owed money paid. I want to see wrongs righted.
So folks, if you were in my boots, what would you do?
Waste more money to countersue and hope you can collect?
The other thing my lawyer asked is if they offer to drop the suit against me would I be prepared to absorb the costs and walk away?
You know, I have no idea how to answer that question.
If I thought I had this community behind me and willing to help me fight, I'd continue on because I want my good name cleared by a judge and I want the people involved exposed - I have more knowledge that what I can share publicly and none of it is good, and if I don't get to court, that evidence will remain forever buried.
I am looking for ideas and advice.
My little business has always been run like a non profit and has always paid things forward into the riding community where I make my living. I don't have a reserve to fight this kind of stuff. I am $1,600 away from being able to pay this latest bill.
What do I do if I can't raise that money?
Represent myself I guess....
If anyone has any ideas, I am more than willing to hear them...
If you are fortunate enough to be riding today, please ride like everyone around you is blind and cannot see you.
Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider
your Lawyer should have an admendment to them dropping the case ...... penalty for all fees incurred from the suit
ReplyDeleteIf you wrote/reported from GP, then is that not the jursdiction in which the proposed 'offence' occured? If it is; then your lawyer should be applying for change of jurisdiction to GP.
ReplyDeleteThe case is being moved to where the bulk of the 7 defendants is from - remember I am only one of 7 being sued.
ReplyDeleteSo many shenanigans involved with Sturgis North (sic). I sympathize with your situation. Of course you know that this is a frivolous lawsuit designed to shut you up from reporting the "truth". If anything they should be made/agree to absorb all court costs from launching this frivolous lawsuit in the first place. They want to smother you in paperwork to intimidate you, so I imagine you have been effective in educating the riding community as to the fraudulent actions this group has undertaken from day one.
ReplyDeleteThey simply are greedy promoters who want to profit off a legitimate motorcycle legacy such taking place in Sturgis SD. IMHO, they remind me of Chinese knock-offs posing as legitimate products, shoddy and inferior. Except twice as expensive.
Whether you counter-sue is up to you, but frankly, a class action lawsuit would likely be the way to go. If the people left owing could organize enough resources to go forward, it would be in the best interest to help future organizations from being hood-winked as Salmon Arm, Sicamous and Vernon have been.
Hope you make your quotas.