At the Aug. 15 District of Houston council meeting, a letter was received by district staff from Melanie Forsythe requesting companies and other organizations to donate the price of one pair of moccasins, at the value of $125, to her mother, Mable Forsythe, who is a moccasin artist who was in a three year legal battle against the registered society, Ksan Association and the Gitanmaax Band.
“Ms. Forsythe’s request was for a $125 donation from the district to her mother to cover the costs of legal damages she was ordered to pay to another party by the small claims court,” said Gerald Pinchbeck, Corporate Services Officer for the District of Houston.
When asked why the District of Houston and other districts should contribute, Melanie said, “My mom, Mabel, is a Wet’suwet’en wing chief, and am I asking people on the traditional Wet’suwet’en nation territory, [which includes the District of Houston] to support one of their chief members.”
Forsythe is requesting the donation as “an opportunity for you to give to a person who was just asking for the money that she [Mable Forsythe] earned,” Forsythe wrote.
Forsythe stated in her letter that she and her mother dropped off their traditional handmade moccasins and jewelry on consignment at the Ksan Historical Village Gift Shop and were not paid. During this time the gift shop in Hazleton was operated by the Ksan Association, who rented the building from the Gitanmaax Band.
The Forsythes received the provincial court’s decision on Jan. 18, 2017 which stated that Judge Sudeyko findings concluded that the Ksan Association owed Mable $3,622.20 for consignment craft items, and Melanie an amount of $1,598.50 for her consignment crafts.
However, as the Ksan Association dissolved shortly after termination of their lease of the Ksan Historical Village Gift Shop by the Gitanmaax Band, due to not paying rent on time, the issue of whether the Gitanmaax Band was liable for the debts of the Ksan Association was raised.
To which Judge Sudeyko concluded that the Gitanmaax Band acted responsibly through the transition period in returning items to consignor artists and due to the lack of financial recording and manage on part of the Ksan Association, the Gitanmaax Band are not liable for the debts of the Ksan Association.
“The court confirms that the general rule is that a successor is not liable for the predecessor’s debt, unless by explicit agreement,” stated the small claims provincial report case involved the Forsythes and the Ksan Association and the Gitanmaax Band.
“I find that the [Gitanmaax] Band, after coming into effective possession of these cheques, had a duty, no less than a landlord terminating a lease and finding third party property, to forward them to the claimants. To their credit and pursuant to their duty, the [Gitanmaax] Band returned the unsold consignment craft items. Like those consignment craft items, there was a duty to forward these cheques to the claimants as rightful owners,”said Judge Sudeyko in the report.
According to the provincial smalls claims report, cheques were issued to both Melanie and Mable in the amount of $845.75 to Melanie and $2261 to Mable, however the Forsythes claim that they were not received.
“I have little doubt that the cheques were initially not forwarded by the [Ksan] Association in order to buy time due to their generally poor financial circumstances, although the documentary evidence of the [Ksan] Association produced by the [Gitanmaax] Band included the bank account of the [Ksan] Association in November 2013 (and earlier) and for the most part supported the presence of sufficient funds…. I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the November 22, 2013 cheques would have been honoured,” said Judge Sudeyko.
“Consequently, I find that the claimants [Forsythes] have suffered a loss. I also find that the [Gitanmaax] Band, having not forwarded those cheques to the claimants at that time are responsible for that loss. To be clear, this is not a finding making the [Gitanmaax] Band responsible for a debt of the [Ksan] Association to the claimants; it is a separate and distinct loss suffered by the failure to forward the cheques to the claimants…. The effect of this finding is to apportion to the claims for the claimants against the [Ksan] Association and the [Gitanmaax] Band as follows:
Mabel Forsythe: [Ksan] Association: $1361.20 [Gitanmaax] Band: $2,261. Melanie Forsythe: [Ksan] Association: $736.75 [Gitanmaax] Band: $846.75
Melanie said that there were errors made by Judge Sudekyo regarding which documents were consignment invoices and payouts.
“This mess could have been avoided if Judge Sudeyko had asked me, and I admit I was lost in the legal translation, why I knew the six pages were consignment sheets. Justice and fairness would have been served if he had done so,” said Melanie.
After unsuccessfully pursuing a claim through the Supreme Court, due to misguided advice from a lawyer as to which application form to process and the restrictions of deadlines, the Forsythes are continuing with legal justice as well as seeking recuperation through the support of companies and organizations on Wet’suewet’en territory.
Houston council received the letter for information but made no further decision on it.
“This means that there will be no action taken until staff are otherwise directed by council,” said Pinchbeck.