GUELPH, Ont. — It’s good to have qualified professionals on your side when trouble comes knocking.
Naomi Leowith, a lawyer with the litigation finance company Bentham IMF Ltd. of Toronto, made the point while talking about court cases with members of the Ontario Institute of Agrol-ogists at their annual meeting in Guelph March 31.
One case involved a dispute be-tween an organic farmer and a conventional farmer. The former blamed the latter for the loss of organic certification after a field of genetically modified canola was swathed rather than combined directly.
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The testimony of a professional agrologist made a difference.
“The GMO farmer won the case because he had consulted an agrol-ogist who recommended that he swath the field,” Leowith said.
“That advice went a long way to insulate that farmer.”
Another case concerned an in-vestment in an exotic cattle business. The endeavour flopped, and the farmer sued the financial institution involved.
It was discovered that the lender had ignored the advice of its agrologist, who suggested the venture was full of risk. The bank was ordered to pay the farmer.
Leowith said full disclosure from agrologists and other professionals is required when there’s a legal action.
She also advised farmers and agrologists to document their decisions because it can mean the difference between winning or losing a lawsuit or avoiding the legal exercise completely.
“In these days with email, it’s important to send yourself a note,” she said. “Cases are often decided on a single notation made.”
Leowith said there’s currently a move within Canadian law to favour the use of expert witnesses.
“As an expert witness, you have a duty to the court to provide fair, objective and non-partisan evidence,” she said.
“This is not a chance to play Perry Mason.”
Leowith defined the term “professional” as someone who belongs to an occupation such as veterinarians, medical practitioners and agrologists. This may be an important point for OIA members who feel certification for agrologists should be mandatory in Ontario, as it is in most other Canadian jurisdictions.
“You’re part of a high group of respected professionals who are held to higher standards,” Leowith said.
The term professional means there’s a system of self-regulation, which includes admission criteria, codes of conduct and a mandate for members to keep up to date in their area of expertise in a “reasonably prudent” fashion.
Professionals can be held ac-countable through a disciplinary tribunal composed of their peers and civil action.
