Paul Temelini, a Sudbury, Ont. lawyer and real estate developer, says Canada Permanent Trust Co/, now known as TD Canada Trust, breached client confidentiality by providing business and personal financial information to the RCMP in the early 1980s.

At the time, the RCMP was investigating Temelini’s work as a solicitor in real estate transactions.

Temelini was charged with six counts of fraud in 1982. He was found innocent in early 1984, but he says by that time his law practice was decimated and his reputation tarnished.

Litigation directed at the RCMP and one of its officers is still pending. Temelini’s lawyer, Michael S. Hebert, of Beament Green, in Ottawa, says during the discovery process in 2000, information was uncovered that revealed a Canada Permanent employee, Robert Thorn, met with an RCMP officer, Jack Kruger, in 1981 to discuss Temelini’s financial dealings.

“The statement of claim alleges that as a result of that meeting and a subsequent meeting, without Mr. Temelini’s knowledge or consent, without presentation of a valid search warrant by Mr. Kruger, and without lawful authority, Canada Permanent and its employee provided all its information concerning Mr. Temelini’s assets and liabilities, business plans and financial information to the RCMP,” said Hebert in a statement released today.

“As a result of the release of my information, Canada Permanent and all of the other financial institutions that I dealt with at the time refused to continue to do business with me and with my clients,” says Temelini. “That was unethical, illegal and malicious.”

Mr Temelini is now a successful real estate developer and businessman. He believes that a great disservice to the legal community has occurred and that is why he has attempted to bring this to the attention of the courts for more than 20 years.

A motion is being brought by TD Canada Trust seeking to dismiss Temelini’s action for being a breach of the deemed undertaking rule and because it is an abuse of the Court’s process. The motion will be argued in Ottawa later this year.