Final Arguments Begin In Suit Against Canucks Owner

Final arguments began yesterday in the lawsuit pitting Canucks Owner Francesco Aquilini against former business partners Vancouver-based execs Tom Gaglardi and Ryan Beedie around their bid to buy the Canucks, according to Greg Joyce of the CP. Aquilini was invited to join a group headed by Gaglardi and Beedie to buy the club, but he struck a deal by himself in November '04 with former Canucks Owner John McCaw for 50% of the team.  Aquilini bought the remainder of the club last year.  Gaglardi and Beedie claim that Aquilini “had no right to enter into [separate] negotiations with Mr. McCaw." Attorney Irwin Nathanson, who is repping Gaglardi and Beedie, in court said that Aquilini “behaved egregiously, deliberately destroying the partnership by secretly negotiating the hockey team for himself, then covering up with lies.” Nathanson: "The relationship in this case between Gaglardi and Beedie and Aquilini is clear. It's equally clear that Aquilini was secretly negotiating with [Orca Bay Sports & Entertainment] while the negotiations with Gaglardi and Beedie were ongoing. … The evidence supports a finding that [Aquilini] as a former partner, assisted by Orca Bay, knowingly destroyed the partnership business" (CP, 9/25).