Ian Gillespie, CEO and founder of Westbank Corp., one of Vancouver's most prominent real estate development firms, has been accused of skipping a scheduled court deposition to attend a World Cup match, according to court filings.
Deposition missed amid World Cup festivities
Gillespie was expected to appear on June 19 for an examination for discovery as part of an ongoing lawsuit filed by former senior Westbank employee Rhiannon Mabberley. Mabberley alleges the company owes her $1.2 million based on an employment agreement, court documents show.
At 4 p.m. on June 18, Gillespie's lawyers notified Mabberley's lawyers by email that Gillespie would be unable to attend the following day's interview. The lawyers apologized and offered to provide new availability and proposed dates.
Lawyer accuses CEO of contempt
Mabberley's lawyer, Thomas Falcone of Coal Harbour Law, responded on June 19, acknowledging the last-minute cancellation was not the lawyers' fault but stating that their client's “last-minute decision is totally unexcused and shows contempt not just for Ms. Mabberley, but for the court process.”
Falcone wrote that they had pressed Westbank's representatives for Gillespie's availability for months without success before serving notice on May 13 that they were unilaterally scheduling the examination for June 19. “Mr. Gillespie may travel in powerful circles, but the Supreme Court civil rules apply to him, and his companies, just as much as anyone else,” Falcone added.
Social media post links CEO to World Cup match
Falcone's email included an image of a social media post by Vancouver-based news outlet theBreaker.news, showing photos of high-profile people entering B.C. Place's VIP gate before the June 18 World Cup match between Canada and Qatar, including a shot of Gillespie. “Given yesterday's FIFA soccer game, there are a lot of the kind of powerful people that Mr. Gillespie likes to rub shoulders with in Vancouver,” Falcone wrote. “Perhaps he thought hobnobbing with the rich and powerful was a better way to spend his Friday than respecting a judicial process involving his former employee to whom he promised to pay $1.2 million.”
Falcone questioned: “Was it insufficient for Mr. Gillespie to enjoy the game itself? He had plenty of time to get home after Canada's triumph over Qatar and prepare for his examination for discovery (the next day).”
Court application seeks to compel testimony
The email correspondence was attached to an affidavit filed last week in B.C. Supreme Court in support of Mabberley's application seeking an order to compel Gillespie to appear next month for examination under oath. The lawsuit and allegations have not been tested in court.
