A failed effort to get the Burnaby Lakers Junior A Lacrosse club moved to Maple Ridge has ended up in court.
Four men — Tyson Craiggs, Ted Craiggs, Clayton Gagnon and Joseph Gagnon — filed a notice of civil claim in B.C. Supreme Court last week, alleging they had a contract with Lakers president Brad Hara to get the team transferred to Maple Ridge.
The claim describes Hara, a Burnaby lawyer, as the notional owner of the team.
According to the claim, the group approached Hara in spring 2024 to hire him as a consultant who would help them get approval for the transfer as well as a price to pay the association for its equipment and other lacrosse items.
Several weeks of negotiations culminated in a July 21, 2024 meeting where the parties entered an agreement, the terms of which were "partly oral, partly written and partly based on established commercial custom," according to the claim.
The lawsuit alleges Hara agreed to use "all his influence and experience" to help the group get the team transferred to Maple Ridge, including lobbying the league's board of governors and using "all his powers of persuasion" with various stakeholders.
Under the alleged agreement, Tyson Craiggs was to be appointed to the board of governors for the association for both the A and B junior teams and to the board of directors for the association.
The group agreed to pay $15,000 before the end of July 2024 and another $25,000 by Jan. 15 to "cover operating expenses of the association," the claim says.
Once the transfer was approved, the group would pay another $160,000 to the association.
The terms were drafted into a "consulting agreement," according to the claim, but Hara requested changes because the way it was written would have caused the money to be taxable as personal income.
While the group was contemplating how to change the agreement, the claim says information about the contract got out to almost everyone associated with the league.
The group advocating for the transfer says it spent "considerable time and money" on specialized lawyers to minimize Hara's tax position but found out in December he had sold the team to Gord Kask, who bought it with money from his brother Michael Kask.
After confirming Hara had sold the team — and not to them — Tyson Craiggs, Ted Craiggs, Clayton Gagnon and Joseph Gagnon launched the lawsuit to sue for "intentional interference with contractual relations."
The suit names Hara, Gord Kask, Michael Kask and B.C. Lacrosse Association president Gerry Van Beek.
"Each of the defendants knew of the contract by fall 2024," the claim states.
Despite that knowledge, the claim alleges each of the defendants undertook actions "designed, intended and planned to interfere with the contract's proper fulfillment."
The claim alleges Van Beek, in his role as B.C. Lacrosse Association president, "went to numerous stakeholders, members and fans" telling them the group advocating for the transfer "were not appropriate parties" to buy or run a Junior A team because they had sued the association in the past. The claim alleges Van Beek told people Tyson Craiggs specifically was "not an appropriate person to sit on the board of governors."
The group is suing Hara for breach of contract and the other defendants for intentional interference with contractual relations.
The claim is also asking for a court order for the contract to be fulfilled.
None of the defendants has filed a response to the allegations, and none of the claims made in the notice of civil claim have been proven in court.
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