This case raises an interesting issue for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. The bad person in this scenario is a woman who held herself out as a lawyer who had stolen large sums of money from other person’s estates. She took the money to two casinos in Ontario and lost all of it. She is probably facing criminal charges but it appears she is now penniless and unable to repay any amounts she stole and lost. So, the Plaintiff’s took a shot at suing the O.L.G. on the basis that they should have done something to stop this. We have provided the headnote for the case. (see below)
Most lawyers would have considered the chances of success as small, and at first, the court agreed and said the O.L.G. could not be sued over this mess. However, on appeal the Court of Appeal said there is a possible claim and allowed the case to continue.
Our guess is this case will be settled as the O.L.G. will not risk establishing a precedent that could expose them to potentially millions of dollars of claims.