THUNDER BAY - A local lawyer facing allegations of sexual assault resigned his role in a class action lawsuit against the city.
Alexander (Sandy) Zaitzeff was the local counsel heading the class action lawsuit on behalf of Thunder Bay residents affected by flooding in May, 2012.
The lawsuit is being handled by Kim Orr Barristers in Toronto. Won Kim, founding principal of the law firm that specializes in class action suits, said in an interview with Thunder Bay Television that they received Zaitzeff’s resignation shortly after his first arrest on Nov. 21, 2016.
“As I understand it, this all happened in November and December and he resigned pretty quickly,” Kim said.
“Frankly, we hope the allegations are not true and, I’m sure, like everyone in Thunder Bay, we were blindsided by this. But the case goes on.”
Zaitzeff was charged with two counts sexual assault, sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching under 16, five counts of assault and mischief under $5,000. He also faces a charge of breach of recognizance. In December, four new counts of sexual assault were added and Zaitzeff remains in custody.
On Dec. 23, 2016, the Upper Canada Law Society suspended Zaitzeff’s law license, barring him from practicing law.
Kim said the class action lawsuit will continue to move forward, adding that a tremendous amount of work has been done on the case.
“The case has been moving along,” he said. “In my experience, and I only do class proceedings, it’s moving at a lightning speed. We expect this matter to be ready for trail sometime in early 2018.”
The class action lawsuit against the city was filed September, 2013 and is seeking more than $320 million on behalf of thousands of residents affected by the May, 2012 flooding.
According to Kim, the case is proceeding to discoveries to allow both parties to obtain evidence from other parties, which will be followed by examinations of discoveries.
“We hope to get this case to resolution in the next year or so,” Kim said. “It’s an important case. This case has consumed gigantic amounts of our resources and the city’s lawyers. I think both parties realize this is a very important case. There are a lot of people in Thunder Bay who suffered a tremendous amount of damage.”
Zaitzeff’s next court appearance is scheduled Jan. 20. None of the allegations against him have been proven in court.
