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For 25 years, a man had his name on his license plate, but now some people are calling it offensive.

Legal Battle Over Personalized License Plate Continues: Supreme Court Awards Damages

As a result of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia’s decision, the ongoing legal battle over Lorne Grabher’s customized license plate featuring his family name took a new turn. He was given $750 in court fees. Since the Registrar of Motor Vehicles took away his license plate in 2016, Grabher has fought to have it back. The decision was made in response to a research by Carrie Rentschler, a professor at McGill University, which claimed the license plate advocated sexual assault against women. Grabher’s attorney, however, disputed the notion that the report was related to the president’s disparaging remarks.

Photo Credit: CBC News

Court Awards Damages

“The same-costs award will do justice between the parties.”

– Justice Pierre Muise
In a recent judgment statement, Judge Pierre Muise determined that Grabher should receive $750 as compensation for the fees he incurred during the court dispute. This sum matched the sum Grabher had agreed to pay the Crown in his earlier affidavit. The court felt that by making this award, both parties would be treated fairly.

The fact that the case will resume in early September implies that the disagreement over the license plate has not yet been resolved.

Photo Credit: CBC News

Contentious Connection to Trump’s Statements

Grabher’s attorney, Jay Cameron, vigorously refuted the Crown report’s claim that the “GRABHER” license plate was connected to President Donald Trump’s disparaging remarks about women. Expert in gender studies and communications Rentschler cited Trump’s remarks from his 2005 presidential campaign, in which he boasted about having the ability to touch women improperly.

Cameron stated that the investigation had not proven that the term “GRABHER” was intended to correspond to Trump’s statement, highlighting the fact that it was merely a moniker. He claimed that aside from the story, there was no supporting documentation linking Grabher’s license plate to Trump in the case.

In his speech before the court in February, Cameron questioned the effect of remarks made by a foreign dignitary on Canadians’ right to free speech.

Defense of the Crown Report

The Crown’s attorney, Alison Campbell, characterized Rentschler’s study as a survey of academic research on how gender violence is portrayed and reinforced in society. She made it clear that the report’s goal was to examine how gender violence is portrayed rather than to make sensationalistic claims.

The license plate was given to Grabher’s late father in 1990 as a gift, and it was intended to represent their Austrian-German history, according to his initial statement.

The fact that the case was continued in September shows that the court has not yet made up its mind about Grabher’s customized license plate.

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