Montour answers Mohawk Council’s lawsuit
The chess match between the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake and former Mohawk Online Limited (MOL) CEO Dean Montour continued this week, as Montour’s legal team answered the MCK’s countersuit against him that demanded $45,000, in what the Council terms a breach of confidential information.
The latest court filing, which follows Montour’s original $300,000 claim against Council for wrongful dismissal, and last month’s countersuit vs. Montour, brings to light new information in an ongoing, increasingly ugly battle.
In the filing, the law firm of Deveau Dufour Mottet revealed previous information that was not reported publicly.
Listed numerically, the filing in Longueuil Superior Court reads as follows:
“1. In the context of a tight election campaign in which Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (“MCK”) chiefs were under intense media scrutiny, where defendant Cody Diabo and incumbent Kahsennénhawe Sky-Deer were candidates for the position of Grand Chief, MCK sent two demand letters to the plaintiff in an intimidation tactic intended to bully, silence and pressure the plaintiff to drop his claims filed against the defendants.
2. The first demand letter was sent on June 27, 2024, followed by another on July 2, 2024.
3. The June 27, 2024, letter claimed damages for unpaid Mohawk Self Insurance (MSI) premiums.
4. The second letter, dated July 2, 2024, accused the plaintiff of breaching confidentiality and making defamatory statements in the June 28, 2024, edition of The Eastern Door.
5. On July 10, 2024, the plaintiff responded to both letters, exposing the frivolous nature of the claims and highlighting MCK’s attempts to intimidate the plaintiff into abandoning his own legal claims against them,” the court documents read.
The original lawsuit is also before the court, which is to determine the validity of Montour’s claims of wrongful dismissal and whether he will be awarded damages akin to a severance package.
The MCK’s countersuit cited Montour’s quotes in an Eastern Door article as potentially damaging due to his standing as the head of MOL, leaving him in a position to possess knowledge otherwise restricted to the average person.
However, some of what Montour said in The Eastern Door article about MOL was revealed on K103 Radio in the Grand Chiefs Debate a few days prior by Cody Diabo and Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer, who were running against each other.
The MCK is claiming defamation and breach of contract.
The original suit by Montour names current grand chief Cody Diabo (who was a MCK chief at the time) as well as the MCK.
“The plaintiff categorically denies any breach of confidential information, as no privileged or confidential content was shared in the article. MCK’s claim for damages is frivolous, baseless and fully exposes the true motives of defendant Diabo (now Grand Chief), which is to avenge himself against plaintiff for the lawsuit that has been filed,” the latest filing reads.
It points to what MCK calls contentious language as simply being fact, including: “MOK was created to circumvent any potential tax liabilities for MCK,” and “By obtaining a licence in Ontario, Entain shut MOL out of any implications related to taxation, fees, or any kind of dealing directly with Ontario.”
It goes on to say: “These statements in the article were not attributed to the plaintiff. Furthermore, this information is public knowledge or information that The Eastern Door has gathered from other sources in its investigation for the article.”
And: “Grand Chief Sky-Deer and Chief Diabo have misinformed the public on the reason why MOL has or will cease its operations. Contrary to what was said by MCK representatives, the unfavorable legal outcome in Ontario neither caused MOL to lose over 50% of its revenue nor did it cause the end of MOL,” it reads, further adding: “Despite increased marketing expenses in Ontario, Entain made a substantial offer to guarantee MOL’s revenues for 2023 and 2024. This offer not only ensured MOL’s survival, but also guaranteed MOL’s profitability for the next 2 years.”
That offer was rejected by the MCK, the lawyers argue, and Montour was left on the sidelines, which they claim ultimately led to MOL’s apparent demise.
“By excluding the plaintiff and refusing the Entain offer, MCK has in fact caused MOL to fail and cease its operations,” said the filing.
Under the heading “Mohawk Self Insurance (MSI) premiums,” the filing also unveiled MCK’s attempt to lay claim to over $84,000 from Montour in alleged unpaid premiums, in what lawyers called an intimidation tactic.
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“The June 27, 2024, letter claimed $84,490.48 in damages for unpaid Mohawk Self Insurance (MSI) premiums. There is no existing law or legislative requirement making MSI mandatory in Kahnawà:ke.”
The court filing went on to say the MSI premium the Council claims Montour owes is 9.58 percent, an unusually high number, one typically applied to hazardous work like ironworking and tree cutting.
“MCK’s cross demand and demand letters lack merit and are a clear attempt to intimidate and discourage the plaintiff from pursuing his legal claim,” the filing concluded.
