By Ava Turnquest

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

FORMER FNM Chairman Michael Pintard yesterday dismissed the suit filed against him by Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard as “baseless and without merit.”

Mr Pintard noted that the wealthy Lyford Cay resident did not hold public office, adding that he was more concerned with the actions of the government than the “unsubstantiated” allegations made against him.

“Any civil action taken by Mr Nygard is certainly baseless and without merit,” he said, “and will only serve to give persons an opportunity to ventilate the range of issues surrounding his behaviour and show the unhealthy relationship he enjoys with this administration.

“Nothing unethical or illegal has been done in the course of acting in my private capacity or as I served in the position as senator and FNM chairman. One can look clearly at the record in the Senate and see that no disproportionate amount of time was spent focusing on Simms Point or what some call Nygard’s Cay.

“In the discharge of my duties, it was always on the national issues and the way forward for the country,” Mr Pintard added.

According to a writ filed in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Mr Nygard has sued The Tribune, Save the Bays, as well as Free National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis, Mr Pintard, and others, for “libel” as well as “abuse” of the Supreme Court and Parliament.

Mr Nygard is seeking an injunction restraining 16 defendants from committing “further acts intended to harm or likely to harm” his economic or other legal interests and an injunction restraining the defendants from committing “further libel or slander” against him.

The lawsuit is the latest court filing in reaction to a March 9 affidavit filed by four Save The Bays (STB) directors - Joseph Darville, Romauld Ferreira, Fred Smith and Louis Bacon - as well as Reverend CB Moss against Mr Nygard and lawyer Keod Smith.

Yesterday, Mr Pintard called Mr Nygard’s lawsuit a “public exercise”.

Mr Pintard pointed out that the government’s response to the March 9 filing opened the Progressive Liberal Party administration to longstanding criticism that its national agenda was driven by private interest.

He underscored that Mr Nygard did not need to defend or explain his actions because the PLP machinery in Parliament and on social media immediately launched a campaign to divert focus and attack the plaintiffs.

Mr Pintard said he did not regret his decision to resign from his posts despite having received calls from many within the party that his actions were premature.

He said: “At the end of the day, in my case, I did not want the role that I thought was and is helpful to the country, helpful to individuals affected and by extension the country, I did not want that role to be a distraction to the organisation I love and value.

“Therefore I thought it was important to give the party that option.”

Mr Pintard said his resignation was important to allow the public to focus on the issues and not an FNM official, and served to rob the PLP of having the ability to use him as a distraction.

He declined to comment on whether the inclusion of party leader Dr Hubert Minnis in Mr Nygard’s lawsuit would impact the FNM.

When asked whether he would try to win back his post at the party’s convention later this year, Mr Pintard said he was now focused on canvassing support for the party at the constituency-level in Grand Bahama. He also said he plans to launch a non-governmental organisation next month to provide support to persons living without electricity or water.