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Miners off the hook

Justice rules on Giant motion

Dawn Ostrem
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 23/01) - Nine people named in a lawsuit stemming from the September 1992 explosion at Giant Mine have been successful in getting their names removed from a lawsuit.

The legal action, filed by the spouses and families of the nine miners killed in the blast, had listed the nine men among more than 30 defendants, including the former owner Peggy Witte and the government of the Northwest Territories.

The man who set the bomb, Roger Wallace Warren, is currently serving a life sentence for murder.

NWT Supreme Court Justice Edward MacCallum ruled this week that the nine shouldn't be included in the suit because they weren't named in the suit until 32 months after the deaths.

There is a two-year limitation period under the Fatal Accidents Act.

"As of this moment they are free of that action," Austin Marshall, lawyer for eight of the defendants told Yellowknifer Thursday.

Marshall represented Bob Kosta, Harold David, Bill Schram, James Mager, Blaine Lisoway, Marc Danis (now deceased) Wayne Campbell and Sylvain Ammyotte.

Dale Johnson, represented by Raymond Purdy, has also been removed from the lawsuit.

Marshall is now working on claiming costs for fighting the motion as well as costs incurred by his clients.