Sens owner Eugene Melnyk files lawsuit against newspaper columnist

Once again, Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk finds himself at the centre of a lawsuit. According to a report by TSN, Melnyk has filed a defamation claim against Ottawa Sun columnist Rick Gibbons for a story he wrote earlier this year involving the Ottawa Senators Foundation. Melnyk is seeking $500,000 in damages.

“Contrary to Mr. Gibbons' narrative that Mr. Melnyk and Capital Sports & Entertainment were gouging the Foundation for their own profit through unreasonably high rent (and therefore hampering the Foundation's ability to give to charities), the Foundation's compensation to staff in the form of salaries and other benefits, and consulting fees is by far its greatest expense, costing $1,180,591, or nearly 20% of its fundraising,” Melnyk's claim says. “By contrast, the Foundation's rental expense was only 1.3% of its fundraising.”

“Mr. Melnyk is a prominent Canadian businessman and public figure who engages with government agencies, the NHL, the private sector, and the Canadian public,” Melnyk's claim says. “The defamatory articles and their broad distribution, including being made available to the world at large on the internet, were damaging to Mr. Melnyk's reputation.”

Back in June, Gibbons wrote that the Senators charged the foundation hundreds of thousands of dollars per year for rent and reported that a 2018 study by Charity Intelligence Canada had found the foundation used less than half the money it collected on charitable projects. Melnyk disputed all of those claims and the Ottawa Sun later published an apology and a correction for errors it said were involved in Gibbons' story. The Sun also admitted it did not contact Melnyk or the Senators for comment before publishing Gibbons' columns.

Melnyk's lawsuit does not name the newspaper, just Gibbons. Since becoming owner of the Senators, Melnyk has been involved in a number of lawsuits as both the plaintiff and the defendant. These have involved a development project in Ottawa, a private airplane used by Melnyk, as well as alleged gambling debts.

Source: TSN

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