EXTREMELY INTERESTING CASE

This is an extremely interesting case, and the continuation of an ongoing saga. I blogged about this case previously, concerning a previous Court decision regarding the stripper herself * see my blog of June 18, 2009) where sh appealed her sentencing for criminal negligence in infecting her husband with HIV. Now her husband is suing her and the government. The husband contends, in general terms, that the authorities owed him a duty of care in not allowing into the country a person infected with HIV, which the stripper apparently knew she had prior to coming to Canada. This case will be closely followed in legal circles because it raises the issue of what is the extent of the duty of care owed by the authorities to the public, and whether the current immigration HIV policy, which allows may infected person to still be able to come to Canada, should be modified. Stay tuned.

Stripper's lawyers want hubby's case tossed Toronto & GTA News Toronto Sun

Stripper's lawyers want hubby's case tossed

By SAM PAZZANO, COURTS BUREAU

Last Updated: 5th January 2010, 5:37am


Lawyers for an HIV-infected Thai stripper, the city, the province, and the federal government implored a judge to dismiss a $33-million lawsuit filed by her estranged husband.
Percy Whiteman, 34, of Toronto, is suing his wife Suwalee "Ricky" Iamkhong, Immigration Canada, the other levels of government and the Zanzibar Tavern, alleging their negligence led to him contracting HIV.
But lawyers for all the defendants say there's no reasonable cause of action. The defendants' lawyers argued their clients don't owe a duty to Whiteman to ensure the Thai-born stripper -- who emigrated here from Hong Kong where she worked as a go-go dancer and prostitute -- was clean of diseases, including AIDS.
"Mr. Whiteman is hoping to throw something against the wall and hoping something will stick," lawyer Jeremy Glick, representing Ontario, told Justice Michael Code.
"Ontario did not owe Mr. Whiteman a private duty of care to protect him from contracting HIV from his wife or anyone else," stated Glick in his factum.
"This is a fishing expedition. This claim cannot succeed and should be struck," Glick told the Superior Court.
The judge has reserved judgment on throwing out the lawsuit.
Whiteman, a former bouncer at the Zanzibar, claims Iamkhong, 40, was allowed into Canada with HIV. They've been separated for five years but he has not divorced her yet.
Iamkhong arrived in Canada in 1995 from Hong Kong, where she had worked as an exotic dancer and had sex with clients. Two weeks before she left Hong Kong, she tested positive for HIV. She worked as a stripper at the Zanzibar Tavern on Yonge St. until 2004.
Whiteman's lawsuit alleges the Zanzibar is vicariously liable for the stripper's actions since it "knew that Iamkhong had previously tested positive for HIV on two occasions and it advised her to ignore the results as 'false positives'."
They were married from 1997 to 2004, when she told him that she had HIV.
She was ill, brought to hospital in February 2004 and was diagnosed as HIV positive. She revealed the devastating news to Whiteman, who discovered he, too, was HIV positive.
Iamkhong was sentenced in August 2007 to three years in jail after being convicted of criminal negligence causing bodily harm for infecting Whiteman. She appealed her sentence last year and it was reduced to two years less a day, allowing her to appeal a deportation order. The allegations in the lawsuit haven't been proven in court.
Whiteman's lawyer Maurice Benzaquen argued the government failed to conduct an HIV test and didn't protect his client. The tests are now mandatory for immigrants over the age of 15.
Whiteman sponsored Iamkhong to immigrate to Canada in 2001. His lawyer argued Whiteman never would have done so if he had known about her HIV condition.
Whiteman also wants Immigration Canada to void a 10-year sponsorship agreement -- making him responsible for her essential needs until next year -- despite the fact that she was convicted of criminal negligence against him.