Death of Bill Manderson may end court fight - county costs now total $380,000
The death of a man who styled himself a county “watchdog” will likely soon bring an end to court battles for Wellington County.
Blogger Bill Manderson, 74, passed away on April 19.
He had been embroiled in a number of legal issues with the county and was being sued by past county councillor Brad Whitcombe and current Chief Administrative Officer Scott Wilson over content posted on his website smelly-welly.com.
Manderson, who lived in Guelph, regularly attended council and committee meetings for several years and was in court for the past two.
Last year, the courts dropped a peace bond case against him, Warden Chris White said in an interview on April 28.
As for the lawsuit, White said it is “in stasis.”
He said just because the defendant has died does not mean all the legal work is finished, and there might be some final steps to take.
White added, “I hope it’s dropped now.”
To date, treasurer Craig Dyer said, the county has paid Toronto law firm McCarthy Tetrault $380,000 to represent Wilson and Whitcombe.
