Setting the record straight

My published letter1 about the dispute between Dr. Nancy Olivieri and the University of Toronto and the Hospital for Sick Children contained an error, which I want to correct. My letter referred to Apotex's suit against Olivieri as follows: “It arose from Olivieri's statements about the company's CEO.” This language was recommended to me by one of the university's legal advisors, and I accepted the advice in good faith.

However, I have since been advised that the Apotex suit is in fact a countersuit launched in response to a suit commenced by Olivieri on Mar. 17, 2000, against Apotex Inc. and its CEO, Barry Sherman, which arose in turn from statements about her made by Sherman. The Apotex countersuit is based on Olivieri's statements about Apotex and deferiprone. The sentence quoted above conflates the suit and the countersuit, and I believe it is unfair to Olivieri, particularly as litigation between her and Apotex is still in progress.

As regards other legal action, I am pleased to confirm that an agreement was reached in November 2002 to resolve all outstanding disputes, litigation and grievances involving Nancy Olivieri, 4 of her colleagues, the Hospital for Sick Children, the University of Toronto, and past and present office-holders in the latter 2 institutions. The resolution was fully supported by the University's Faculty Association and the Canadian Association of University Teachers.

David Naylor Dean, Faculty of Medicine Vice Provost, Relations with Health Care Institutions University of Toronto Toronto Ont.