Allegations of conflict of interest and breach of fiduciary duty are at the heart of a lawsuit launched by Mercer Gold Corp. (Nevada) (Mercer Nevada) against Vancouver-based Mercer Gold Corp. (BC) (Mercer BC).
The suit, filed September 6 in B.C. Supreme Court, says that Mercer Nevada, formerly Uranium International Corp., entered an option agreement with Mercer BC to buy the Guayabales Gold Project in Columbia.
It alleges that that in the wake of that agreement, Rahim Jivraj, who has alternated between leadership roles at Mercer BC and Mercer Nevada, issued notice that Mercer Gold had defaulted on the option agreement.
Mercer Nevada is alleging that Jivraj breached continuing fiduciary duty to Mercer Gold, from a previous role as president and director of Mercer Gold, regarding the alleged default. Mercer Nevada says it is pursuing arbitration as to whether the option agreement has been terminated.
Mercer Nevada is seeking an injunction stopping Mercer BC from communicating with its employees or taking steps to interfere with Mercer Gold’s role as operator of the Columbian property. It’s also seeking a declaration that Mercer gold will continue as operator of the property pending the arbitration decision.
In a statement of claim issued October 3, Mercer BC denied the allegations and claimed that the default was legitimate.
Mercer BC, along with Jivraj, has also been named defendant in a lawsuit alleging defamation. The suit, filed September 23 by businessman Brent Pierce, claims that Jivraj sent a defamatory email concerning Pierce to at least 14 individuals and then posted the letter on a website. Pierce is seeking damages and injunctions restraining the defendants from writing or printing the alleged or similar libel, and from publishing any material which pertains to the plaintiff.
In a statement of defence filed October 6, the defendants denied that the plaintiff’s reputation has been damaged by the words complained of.
None of these allegations has been proven in court.
