P.E.I. e-gaming lawsuit: Government officials not parties to contract says judge

Yesterday's Supreme Court ruling striking down a $25 million lawsuit against the P.E.I. government contains good news for individual government representatives named in the suit.

• P.E.I. Supreme Court tosses out $25M e-gaming lawsuit against province

Justice Gordon Campbell ruled Capital Markets Technologies has no cause of action against those individuals, based on the statement of claim that was struck down this week.

Capital Markets Technologies filed its suit in April of 2015, alleging the P.E.I. government acted in breach of good faith and failed to act honestly in its dealings with the company.

CMT had named former Finance Minister Wes Sheridan, former Innovation Minister Allan Campbell, and the premier's former chief of staff Chris LeClair, among others.

But Justice Campbell ruled none of those people were party to a memorandum of understanding signed between the P.E.I. government and a subsidiary of CMT.

Therefore, he said, CMT has no cause of action against those individuals based on that MOU. He also said CMT failed to show any of those individuals were involved in a conspiracy against the company.

Justice Campbell also struck down pleadings in the CMT statement of claim based on statements allegedly made in the P.E.I. legislature, pointing out those statements are protected by parliamentary privilege.

CMT president Paul Maines has said his company plans to file a new statement of claim. In an e-mailto CBC News the company's lawyer agreed theindividuals were not party to the MOU, and said that will be reflected in the company's revised claim. But he said the company will continue to pursue all the defendants previously named as having interfered in the economic relations of the company.