(Montreal) Quebec electronics billionaire Robert Miller wants to defend himself against women who claim he paid them for sex when they were minors, but he cannot do so if he does not know their names, his lawyer said on Thursday.
Posted at 3:05 p.m.
Updated at 6:29 p.m.
The request for class action against his client cannot move forward because it allows his accusers to remain anonymous, argued Me Karim Renno during a hearing at the Superior Court of Quebec.
Robert Miller, 81, founder of global electronics distributor Future Electronics, “has the right to contradict this testimony,” Mr.e Renno to Judge Catherine Piché.
The latter hears arguments for three days to decide whether or not to authorize the lawsuit, which alleges that Mr. Miller exchanged money and gifts for sex with minors in the 1990s and 2000s.
To this day, Robert Miller does not know who is accusing him, his lawyer said. “It’s my client’s frustration […] it is that of a person who waits for the day when he can defend himself. »
Class actions for sexual misconduct are not the right way to prosecute people who were not in a position of authority over their victims, said Ms.e Renno.
“There is no case authorized in Quebec as part of a class action for sexual misconduct where the defendant was not in a position of authority,” argued Mr.e Renno, pointing out that in cases that came to trial, the defendant was often a priest or coach with an easily identifiable group of victims.
Many complainants
The proposed lawsuit identifies the group as anyone under the age of 18 who was paid for sex by Mr. Miller, or who was subjected to sexual exploitation by him or any other group determined by the court.
A lawyer for the plaintiffs said Wednesday that 51 women have signed up to be part of the class action, but the actual number could be as high as 100.
“The question is purely procedural: Are we going to proceed with collective action or will these people have to move forward with individual actions? », underlined Me Renno.
According to an investigative report published in February 2023 by - and CBC, Robert Miller allegedly gave money and gifts to minors in exchange for sex between 1994 and 2006. Mr. Miller identified as a man American businessman named Bob Adams, who traveled frequently to Montreal, and the meetings allegedly took place in Montreal hotels and a private home in Westmount.
Me Renno noted that the allegations arose during a bitter divorce battle between Mr. Miller and his ex-wife, during which private investigators were monitoring him.
Montreal police investigated in 2008 and 2009, but the Crown refused to press charges. Fifteen years later, after the 2023 investigative report, police reopened the case and charges began to be filed.
Robert Miller was indicted last May on 21 criminal counts involving 10 alleged victims, many of whom were minors.
The billionaire, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, has denied the allegations in the criminal case and in the class action petition. The criminal case is due back in court next month.
Mr. Miller sold Future Electronics this year, but the company is named in the class action, as are three of his former employees who were allegedly part of a network to recruit girls for him. The employees are Sam Joseph Abrams, Raymond Poulet and Helmut Lippmann. Lawyers for the men will present their arguments Friday.
Me Renno called the filing of the class action chaotic; he said the suit was filed just weeks after the investigative report aired, noting that it has been amended five times since it was first filed.
Mr. Miller’s defense lawyer noted that there are five other lawsuits on similar facts involving his client before the Superior Court of Quebec, one of which was dismissed and is the subject of a call.
“Mr. Miller is not in court today saying ‘the multiple women who accuse me have no right to go to court,’ all he is saying is that “he has the right to defend himself, he has this right, inalienable, constitutional”, mentioned Mr.e Renno.
