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Per a
Globe and Mail report, former Ottawa Senators winger Dany Heatley has officially filed a lawsuit against his former agent and business advisor, alleging that he was victimized by various real estate schemes and unauthorized withdrawals in excess $4-million from his bank account.
Heatley's initial complaint alleges the following:
The 20-page statement of claim alleges conspiracy, oppression, breach of fiduciary obligation and unjust enrichment by the McAlpine family, which Heatley accuses of using multiple corporate entities “as a sham, cloak or alter ego, in order to shield themselves from personal liability.”
Dany Heatley's former agent, Stacey McAlpine, has fallen off the grid since the first steps of litigation were taken by Dany Heatley in the matter. Heatley's already won a default judgment against one party -- NSEM Management -- in excess of $1.3-million. To date, Heatley hasn't seen any of that money.
Since the default judgment, damages have skyrocketed to the above-referenced number of $10-million.
On top of the $10M lost, Heatley's seeking approximately $1.2M in punitive damages. Heatley will have to prove that McAlpine, et al. were guilty of committing actual fraud or malice when conducting business. To satisfy the conditions of malice, the defendant must have deliberately proceeded to act in conscious or intentional disregard with high probability of injury to plaintiff. To satisfy the conditions of fraud, the defendant must have made a representation with knowledge of falsehoods or concealed material facts with the purpose of depriving plaintiff, causing injury.
Considering the early details surrounding this case, Dany Heatley may have a shot at not only claiming reimbursement for his initial damages, but collecting punitive damages for deliberate injury inflicted.
Heatley's relationship with McAlpine and related-parties had been established early in his playing career, but manifested after the tragic accident claimed the life of close friend and teammate, Dan Snyder. McAlpine reportedly helped Heatley through the toughest of times, and as a byproduct of such, earned the trust of Heatley and his financials.
As the parties grew close, the defendants allegedly began abusing Heatley's wallet.
According to the lawsuit, Heatley’s real-estate dealings with the family began in 2008 with a $1-million investment in condominium units across Canada, which he would see back in five years along with a 100-per-cent return. Also that year, another of the family’s companies made the same investment offer on some U.S. condos.
The lawsuit alleges the defendants “negligently and fraudulently misrepresented” investments as “good” and “safe” when they ought to have known it was “highly speculative.”
In a third transaction, a 2009 term deposit that promised a 6-per-cent return in 2010, Heatley sank almost $1.3-million, which was the subject of last year’s default judgment.
The lawsuit also outlines Stacey McAlpine’s alleged access to Heatley’s bank accounts for investment purposes and bill payments, but instead between 2008 and 2009, more than $4-million vanished in four separate transactions.
Dany Heatley was traded from the Ottawa Senators to the San Jose Sharks in September of '09 after a falling out with the organization. In exchange for his services, the Ottawa Senators acquired a second-round pick and two goal-scorers in Jonathan Cheechoo and Milan Michalek.
Heatley's since been moved from San Jose to Minnesota, and has watched his production and output sharply diminish over the past few seasons.
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