Sports Attorney, Dr Emir Crowne, secured a major win against the Canadian Centre For Ethics in Sport (CCES), Canada’s doping regulator, earlier this week.
The CCES had appealed the $1000 witness fee an athlete was awarded during her initial doping hearing. The athlete having succeeded on the merits of her case before Arbitrator David Bennett in demonstrating that her adverse analytical finding (SARM LGD-4033) was due to her consumption of a contaminated product.
The result of the substantive hearing was not appealed by the CCES, only the cost award was appealed. In that cost award, the athlete was denied recovery of her legal fees ($27,120) but awarded her witness fee ($1000) by Arbitrator Bennett.
On appeal, the matter was dismissed by Arbitrator Patrice Brunet as the athlete had indicated her non-collection of the $1000 witness fee, and the matter was therefore moot. According to Dr. Crowne, “the decision to appeal a $1000 witness fee that was otherwise not being collected was, by all accounts, an aggressive move by the CCES. An incredible amount of public resources was spent in litigating an otherwise moot point. In dismissing the appeal, Arbitrator Brunet has brought an end to an otherwise daunting process for the athlete. She can finally move on from all of this.”
The athlete was also represented by Ms. Amanda Fowler, a Toronto-based sports lawyer.
