By T. D. Thornton
The bitter power struggle over the Stronach family empire now includes a $15 million (CDN) defamation lawsuit filed by Belinda Stronach against her father, Frank Stronach, based on allegations he “has falsely and egregiously accused his daughter of having 'stole[n]' and 'manipulated' ownership and control” of The Stronach Group (TSG), whose portfolio includes six United States racetracks.
This latest piece of litigation comes after the 86-year-old family patriarch made a months-long series of comments at public events and in media interviews that his 53-year-old daughter, the chairman and president of TSG, is categorizing in court documents as “malicious” attacks on her reputation that are “fueled by his desire for publicity and notoriety.”
The lawsuit, filed July 23 in Ontario Superior Court of Justice, was obtained Thursday by TDN via public records request. Belinda Stronach is seeking $10 million (CDN) in general damages for defamation, $5 million (CDN) in punitive and aggravated damages, “special damages” in an amount to be determined before the case goes to trial, and injunctions “restraining Frank from publishing further defamatory statements,” according to court documents.
An attorney for Frank Stronach did not respond to TDN's emailed request for comment prior to deadline for this story.
At issue are statements Frank Stronach made at a press conference he orchestrated, advertised and spoke at in California Apr. 23 and at a California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) public meeting June 20. The court documents also reference the widespread publication of those remarks by various news outlets, including TDN, and cite an interview he gave that The Blood-Horse published May 28.
“Belinda has commenced this defamation claim as a result of highly defamatory and malicious statements made by Frank with respect to Belinda in connection with the ownership and control of TSG and with respect to the recent horse fatalities at TSG's Santa Anita Park,” the suit states. “Frank has also attributed a prevalent, industry-wide problem to Belinda and other members of TSG management, knowing such attribution to be false, and knowing that Belinda and TSG have, in fact, been at the forefront of addressing these problems and advocating for industry-wide reforms to enhance horse safety and welfare.
“Frank's defamatory statements go straight to the heart of Belinda's personal and business reputation,” the suit continues. “Frank sought out and targeted the widest possible audience for his defamatory statements. He attacked Belinda's integrity, management experience and skills, and questioned her care and concern for Santa Anita, horses, and the racing industry more generally. His statements are not only false, they were intended to hurt Belinda's reputation and negatively impact her and TSG's ability to do business.”
Among the allegedly defamatory statements detailed in the 39-page court filing are Frank Stronach's Apr. 23 press conference assertions that “I created everything. It's all my money, and by manipulation I was shut out of the process…My daughter tricked her brother…I'm so disappointed in my daughter,” and “[Belinda] hasn't got the experience to run [TSG]….This was bad management.”
In the May 28 Blood-Horse story, Frank Stronach was quoted as saying “Belinda hasn't been in it enough to understand. So, there are other people who are grossly negligent. There's enough evidence and a paper trail. They did not implement the medication protocol program. They did not implement plans I had to improve the racetrack….The big [family] rift started because my daughter wanted to sell the racetracks.”
At the June 20 CHRB meeting, Belinda Stronach is taking umbrage with (among others) the following Frank Stronach statements: “I was very disturbed and sad about the news over the last half year at the breakdowns in Santa Anita…. It could have been prevented. But you [have to] know what the problems are in order to solve the problems…. I am here representing the actual owners of TSG….I am speaking as the rightful owner with the endorsement of my wife and my son.”
According to the defamation suit, Belinda Stronach twice, on June 4 and July 18, gave her father a “notice of libel” and asked him to publish “an unequivocal apology and retraction with regards to his statements.”
He did neither, according to the suit, and chose instead “to not only repeat many of the same false and defamatory statements about Belinda, but to intensify his defamation of Belinda by falsely and recklessly accusing her of illicit conduct.”
The suit further states that “The defamatory statements that Frank continues to repeat, in the wake of receiving two notices of libel, are known by Frank to be false…. Frank has expressly or implicitly stated that Belinda intends on selling Santa Anita. Belinda is committed to TSG's [racing and gaming] business segment and has no intention of selling Santa Anita. She has directly informed Frank of this on numerous occasions, including in advance of Frank's recent streak of defamation, yet he continues to make this same accusation.”
The defamation lawsuit is being made public as the Stronach family's legal saga approaches the 11-month mark. Last October, Frank Stronach and his wife, Elfriede, jointly filed a $540 million (CDN) lawsuit suit demanding restitution and a court trial to remove Belinda Stronach from all corporate officer and trustee positions related to the Stronach empire.
That litigation also sought financial redress related to an alleged “series of covert and unlawful actions…that have been contrary to the best interests of, and to the overwhelming detriment of, other members of the Stronach family.”
Two of Frank Stronach's grandchildren, Nicole Walker and Frank Walker, were also named as co-defendants. They are Belinda's children.
Separately, Andrew Stronach, who is Belinda's brother, filed his own lawsuit in November 2018 alleging similar TSG malfeasance as a result of his sister's “serious misconduct.”
In January 2019, Belinda Stronach fired back in court with a statement of defense that denied the initial charges and included counterclaims of financial mismanagement by her dad that she alleged cost the family some $850 million (CDN), “with hundreds of millions of this amount likely being irretrievably lost.” She chalked up the purported losses to her father's ill-advised “passion projects.”
In May, a court reply filed by Frank Stronach implied that years of alleged malfeasance by his daughter played a role in the current equine fatality crisis at Santa Anita Park. Despite the gravity of that assertion, that filing did not state any evidence to directly link her behavior to the spate of 30 racehorse deaths.
Among 247 other TSG holdings, the Stronach family firm owns Santa Anita Park, Golden Gate Fields, Gulfstream Park, Laurel Park, Pimlico Race Course, plus Portland Meadows, which no longer conducts racing and is in the process of being sold.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
