Class-action against City of Saint John for harm caused by police officer is back in court
CBC
A lawsuit against the City of Saint John for sexual abuse by a police officer was back in court this week.
The class-action suit, filed in 2013, is now in its final stages — determining who qualifies and how much money they will receive.
The class members, including representative plaintiff Bobby Hayes, are seeking damages from the city as the employer of Kenneth Estabrooks.
Estabrooks worked as a police officer from 1953 to 1975 before he was transferred to the city works department after he admitted to sexual relationships with two teenage boys.
He was eventually charged criminally, and in 1999 he was found guilty of four counts of indecent assault. He was sentenced to six years in prison, where he died in 2005.
Now in its 13th year, the case has already been to the New Brunswick Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, which refused to hear the city's appeal last year.
That meant the 2023 decision of the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick will stand — that the City of Saint John is vicariously liable for the sexual abuse committed by Estabrooks while he was a police officer.
The only thing left to be sorted out is who qualifies as a victim and how much they will get paid. But how to sort that out is still in dispute.
Three days were set aside this week in the Court of King's Bench to come up with a protocol to follow for establishing awards.
At the beginning of a full day of legal arguments on Tuesday, Justice Darrell Stephenson described the two sides as being "diametrically opposed."
One of the major sticking points is the cross-examination of plaintiffs. The plaintiffs' lawyers were opposed to cross-examination, but the city's lawyer, Michael Brenton, insisted on having the option to question plaintiffs.
Brenton used the example of a person claiming they're unable to work because of psychological damage caused by having been sexually assaulted by Estabrooks as a child. But, said Brenton, perhaps the person wasn't physically able to work because of a snowmobile accident.
Brenton said he wants to ensure the right to cross-examine plaintiffs and potentially call other experts, such as medical doctors.
After lawyers for both sides spoke during the lunch break, they came back seemingly more open to flexibility.
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