A B.C. Supreme Court judge rejected a bid by former Steveston-Richmond East MP Joe Peschisolido to clear his name ahead of last month’s election.
Justice Sharon Matthews waited until after the Oct. 21 federal election — which saw incumbent Liberal Peschisolido lose his seat to the Conservative’s Kenny Chiu — to reject his request to expedite a civil suit, which names him as one of the defendants.
Peschisolido, who ran a law firm before becoming an MP, and his law corporation are accused of a breach of trust in connection with legal services and the operations of a trust account connected to an alleged $15 million U.S. fraud scheme.
He filed an application to dismiss the personal claims against him just before the beginning of the recent election campaign.
According to a judgment released earlier this month, Peschisolido argued that given the impending election, "resolving the claims against him is urgent because it is damaging his reputation and he should not be further delayed from clearing his name."
Peschisolido also argued that Jiang hasn't advanced the case in the four years since he filed the lawsuit.
He argued for a summary trial to dismiss the claims against him, which would have meant a streamlined process in which a judge considers only written evidence.
However, the judge wrote that she “not aware of any authority for the proposition that because of damage to their reputations that lawsuits might bring, lawyers or members of Parliament are entitled to have their cases heard or decided (in an expedited manner) if it is otherwise inappropriate.
“As is apparent from the timing of the release of these reasons, the election period was insufficient time for a decision to be considered and delivered before the election concluded in any event."
The judge said that conflicting evidence in the case couldn't be resolved in a summary trial. She awarded costs to Jiang.
Peschisolido was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed in 2015 by Yicheng Jiang against alleged fraudsters Paul Oei and Loretta Lai.
Jiang claims Oei and Lai persuaded him to put more than $3.7 million into a scheme that would have seen investors acquire an interest in a start-up fertilizer company through shares in shell companies.
However, Jiang claims the money went to Oei and Lai.
According to the original claim, the pair hired a lawyer at Peschisolido’s firm, Yvonne Hsu, to help receive and disburse the funds.
Jiang claims the law firm and Peschisolido failed to meet the standard of care expected of a B.C. law corporation.
In 2018, the B.C. Securities Commission found Oei and his companies had committed fraud involving more than 50 investors. He was fined $4.5 million.
And this August, Hsu was found to have committed professional misconduct by "engaging in activities that she ought to have known assisted in or encouraged dishonesty or fraud."
