Crimebustersnow versus Treasure Traders
One of the more difficult problems any private consumer warning website faces is the problem of defamation. When a single individual takes on an organization and alleges that the organization is in effect a criminal one, you can imagine that the lawsuits will fly.
David John Thorton faced this problem with his website www.crimebustersnow.com in which he alleged that Treasure Traders was an illegal pyramid scheme. Treasure Traders sued him and asked for an injunction requiring him to take down his website, among other things.
The matter was heard by the Honourable Mr. Justice Quigley on June 29, 2006. The decision was recently released, with the style of cause being Treasure Traders International Corporation and Business In Motion International Corporation versus David John Thorton. It should be available soon online. But the entire decision can be read at www.crimebustersnow.com.
The Honourable Mr. Justice Quigley denied TTI's motion for injunctive relief holding that TTI had not made out all three elements necessary for injunctive relief. In particular, he found that TTI had not come to the Court with "clean hands". The allegations Mr. Thorton had made about the company, viz. that it was an illegal pyramid was sufficiently supported by uncontradicted evidence that the Judge decided that the balance of convenience favoured letting Mr. Thorton continue his investigatory work and publish it online.
Mr. Thorton also alleges that "Diamond Traders" is an illegal pyramid scheme. Diamond Trader's website which explains it pyramid scheme uses the very same metaphors, with different labels, as did the recent Massachusetts illegal pyramid scheme.
It is a credit to Mr. Thorton that he was able to represent himself effectively in this lawsuit, and we look forward to seeing the results of his security for costs motion. A similar motion for security of costs was recently allowed against TTI.
Technorati Tags: treasure traders international, illegal pyramid scheme, honourable mr justice, quigley, tti, private consumer, injunctive relief, defamation, injunction
Read More From BizOp News
June 23, 2006
Treasure Traders and the Attraction of Pyramid Schemes
The Competition Bureau of Canada regulates both multi-level marketing and pyramid schemes. In a succient statement of law as it relates to pyramid schemes, the Competition Bureau's website states:
What Is a Scheme of Pyramid Selling?A scheme of pyramid selling is a multi-level marketing plan that incorporates any one of a number of specified marketing practices that make it a criminal offence under the Competition Act.
It is illegal if:
* participants pay money for the right to receive compensation for recruiting new participants;
* a participant is required to buy a specific quantity of products, other than at cost price for the purpose of advertising, before the participant is allowed to join the plan or advance within the plan;
* participants are knowingly sold commercially unreasonable quantities of the product or products (this practice is called inventory loading); or
* participants are not allowed to return products on reasonable commercial terms.
There is one website which accuses the Competition Bureau of incompetence in not prosecuting a pyramid scheme called Treasure Traders or Business In Motion. He is quite insistent publishing long and interesting posts here, here, and finally here is a cache site of forum no longer available. I wonder if we will hear anything more about this and whether these allegations about the Competition Bureau are founded. Stay tuned.
