Billionaire hedge fund founder Louis Baconâs $203 million defamation judgment against Finnish-Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard was thrown out because Nygard wasnât properly served court papers while imprisoned for sexual assault.
The Moore Capital founder won his case by default last year after Nygard, Baconâs former next-door neighbour in the exclusive beachfront community of Lyford Cay, Bahamas, failed to respond to the suit. A court-appointed referee found that Nygard had spread lies about Bacon âout of ill-will, spite, and maliceâ as part of a years-long feud.
Nygard, 83, is in prison after being convicted in Toronto of sexually assaulting four women. A New York appeals court on Thursday threw out Baconâs award, ruling that, while a process server delivered court papers to the prison, there was no evidence that they actually got to Nygard.
The appeals court sent the case back to the trial judge for further proceedings.
The referee in the case, retired federal judge Layn Phillips, found that Nygard falsely labeled Bacon a murderer, drug trafficker, inside trader and Ku Klux Klan member. Phillips said the evidence pointed to âa deliberate plan by Nygard to personally and professionally destroy Bacon.â
Nygard still faces sex-crime trials in Montreal and Winnipeg. Heâs also charged in Manhattan with sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy and will be extradited to the US after the Canadian criminal charges have been resolved.
US prosecutors claim Nygard used the resources of his company, Nygard International Partnership, to help him control women through the use of surveillance and physical restraint. Nygard hosted âpamper partiesâ at his properties in Marina del Rey, California, and at his home in the Bahamas, where guests were plied with food, drinks, and spa treatments, according the indictment.
The case is Bacon v. Nygard, 2023-05707, New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Div., 1st Depât (Manhattan).
By Bob Van Voris
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Disgraced Fashion Executive Nygard Gets 11-Year Prison Sentence for Sexual Assault
Nygard, the judge said, used his wealth and power to prey on women, then used aggressive tactics and degrading language that left his victims humiliated.
