Astral Media Threatens to Sue IllegalSigns.ca
We have distributed the following press relaase in response to this Astral Media press release.
ANOTHER ‘STREET FURNITURE’ BIDDER THREATENS TO SUE ACTIVISTS
ASTRAL’s THREATS COME AFTER TWO CITY COUNCILLORS SLAM CLEAR CHANNEL FOR THREATENING TO SUE
IllegalSigns.ca, a grassroots, community-based advertising industry watchdog, has been threatened with a lawsuit by Astral Media, a bidder in Toronto’s street furniture RFP.
In news release, Astral says that it “wishes to serve notice on illegalsigns.ca and its coordinator, Rami Tabello, that recent potentially slanderous posts on this website are under review by legal counsel and we reserve the right to take such actions as necessary to protect our corporate reputations.”
Instead of threatening to sue penniless, grassroots activist groups, Astral could try protecting its reputation by removing some of the scores of illegal billboards that it operates in the City of Toronto,” says Rami Tabello, coordinator of IllegalSigns.ca. “Astral has repeatedly ignored the City’s orders to remove their billboards. Astral’s contempt of the law, not IllegalSigns.ca, is at the heart of Astral’s reputation problems.
Astral Media’s threats come after City Councillors Pam McConnell and Joe Mihevc slammed Clear Channel Outdoor for threatening a similar lawsuit in the Globe and Mail. Those City Councillors suggested that Clear Channel be disqualified from bidding on street furniture for its “reprehensible” threats.
“Astral Media is a corporation out-of-control. With these heavy-handed tactics, it has shown itself to have no respect for airing of opposing view during the democratic process. Is this the kind of company the City should do business with?” says Mr. Tabello, whose web site yesterday revealed that the project director of the street furniture RFP worked to develop a video screen designed by Astral Media’s designer during the RFP process.
IllegalSigns.ca has not redacted a word on its web site in response to Astral’s baseless threats.
Media Contact:
Rami Tabello, Coordinator, IllegalSigns.ca
Phone: 416.822.3696
Now read our reports on Astral Media’s culture of non-compliance with the law:
Astral Media: A Culture of Non-Compliance With the Law (Part One)
Astral Media: A Culture of Non-Compliance With the Law (Part Two)
Astral Media: A Culture of Non-Compliance With the Law (Part Three)
April 11th, 2007 at 11:31 am
I wish the authors of their press releases would get their terminology straight. While Tabello might or might not have “slandered” anyone, that didn’t happen on a Web site, since slander is unwritten defamation. Truth is a defence in defamation cases. Astral would have to prove that claims made were untrue, among other burdens.
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca:81/ISYSquery/frame/IHT6822.c#hit12
April 11th, 2007 at 11:38 am
Great work Rami, i’m in your corner.
April 11th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
Unbelievable.
I love your line about what lies at the heart of their reputation problem.
Awesome stuff Rami
April 11th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
Great work Rami. Stick to your guns and I’ll help wherever I can.
April 11th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
Keep fighting the good fight! gttavisions.com is behind you all the way.
April 11th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Let it be known if you need contributors to a legal fund. If the billboard companies want a fight, a fight they shall have.
…Should Astral make good on its threat it would be fun to file a counter-suit on behalf of the residents of Toronto seeking damages for the public space Astral has sullied.
So far we have a collection of threats, an no lawsuits. -Rami
April 11th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
Perhaps all the companies in the street furniture bid will threaten to sue, leaving City council no choice but to disqualify everyone…
Some people are blessed with intelligence; some people are blessed with good looks; others, with personality. Then there’s Nick Arakgi of CBS Outdoor. He’s blessed with having competitors that are idiots. -Rami
April 11th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
Keep on keeping on Rami. They’re running scared.
April 11th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
That Astral chose to make its threat by means of a press release is pretty interesting. They’re not trying to shut up illegalsigns.ca with a quiet threat, as Clear Channel did with its clumsy letter. Instead, they’re acting as though the cat is out of the bag, and the only thing to do is to issue a very public denial.
Will they actually sue? Probably not. They’re currently able to deny that Bob Millward has ever worked for Astral or Kramer Design, however improbably, and just hope that their denial sticks. I’m not sure how else the evidence could be explained, but this is the world of hand-waving and press releases.
Filing suit, however, would head them down the road to such exciting things as disclosure and having their private documents subpoenaed.
(And what of Bob Millward? Here’s a line from his contract: “If there arises any doubt as to whether there is or could be a conflict of interest, the decision of the City shall be final.”)
There is also a conflict of interest clause in the RFP itself that requires bidders to disclose conflicts. I don’t believe that Astral has disclosed anything. -Rami
April 11th, 2007 at 10:23 pm
If anything, Astral Media just injured their reputation further with this action. Excellent work poking the hornets nest and coming out on top.
April 12th, 2007 at 12:54 am
These sue-happy businesses ought to consider the cost of making their lawyers stinking rich, and the real reason they are being advised to sue. What’s next when they lose, will they sue the judge for sullying their “good” name?
April 12th, 2007 at 8:49 am
Absolutely brilliant work Rami!
Imagine the monetary fees that would roll in if the City were allowed to collect charges for violating sign by-laws. Funny how I have to pay every time I violate a by-law by parking my car in the wrong spot or for too long.
Keep on fighting Rami.