Unhappy Gilmore loses to well known Union Socialist lawyer

Written By: - Date published: 8:31 am, December 18th, 2018 - 22 comments
Categories: national, same old national, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, workers' rights - Tags: ,

Tis the season to be jolly and good will to all men and women.

Unless it appears you are former National MP of do you know who I am infamity and a poor former employee who took him to court for breach of her employment rights.

The parties had agreed to the payment of $19,000 in damages and $10,000 in costs following the raising of a personal grievance.  But Aaron’s company only paid the agreed amount in dribs and drabs and seemed to be under the misapprehension that it could pay at a rate it determined rather than in accordance with the terms of the agreement.

So the former employee took him back to Court.  Debrin Foxcroft at Stuff has the details:

Gilmore was the subject of an ERA determination connected to his company, Mighty Rocket Properties.

In October, former employee Amanda High sought a compliance order over a settlement reached in August.

On December 6, Gilmore was ordered to pay what he owed her, as well as an additional penalty.

Failure to do so by December 20 meant Gilmore could have faced up to three months’ prison and a fine of $40,000.

When contacted by Stuff, Gilmore said he had paid the outstanding balance, narrowly avoiding the potential for further court action.

However, Greg Lloyd, the lawyer for High, said Gilmore had not made the payment in full.

“I spoke with my client an hour ago. Since the first settlement he has paid a total of $19,000. That takes care of the compensation amount but he hasn’t paid everything,” Lloyd said.

There was $10,000 outstanding, he said.

“If he doesn’t pay in full by December 20 then he will be in breach and we will progress further.”

The decision itself provides an interesting insight into Gilmore’s approach to business and includes a finding that he displayed a lack of good faith this passage:

Mr Gilmore’s acknowledgement that he entered into the settlement agreement with the intention of paying monies agreed in that document “as when able” rather than in accordance with the agreed timeframes demonstrates a lack of good faith.

As pointed out by Foxcroft this is not the first time Gilmore has attracted attention of the wrong kind.  There was the time that he threatened to get a waiter sacked for some indiscretion then was not completely up front about it.  There was also his inaccurate CV on the Parliament website which he said was someone else’s fault.  There was also a very funny facebook page Aaron Gilmore for Prime Minister that he claimed was set up by some Labour Party activist although he did not know who.

Even in defeat Gilmore displayed a churlishness that has not gone unnoticed.  His response to Stuff included this comment:

However, my company has as at today paid Ms High the rest of amounts we agreed to pay her as per the ERA Compliance Order, a few days early. As such the matter with … High is at an end. A remaining amount due to Ms High’s lawyer, a well known union socialist, will be settled as well within the agreed timelines.”

Union socialist lawyers of the world unite.

22 comments on “Unhappy Gilmore loses to well known Union Socialist lawyer ”

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  1. I feel love 1
    18 December 2018 at 8:53 am

    Reds under the bed!!! Could be one of the right wing paranoid trolls, “socialist!”, like many on the left would take offense at being called that.

    • mickysavage 1.1
      18 December 2018 at 9:08 am

      Sign me up. I would wear the title “union socialist lawyer” with pride.

      And fancy saying that to a reporter, let alone thinking it.

      • veutoviper 1.1.1
        18 December 2018 at 9:23 am

        Wonderful, mickysavage!

        Talk about foot in mouth by Gilmore. Obviously learnt no lessons from his previous ‘do you know who I am’ faux pas.

        I am so pleased you put up this post as I saw this last night and was going to post in OM.

        And congratulations on your life membership – well deserved.

        [Later this morning when I have got my act together I will post a link to David Fisher’s latest on the Sroubek situation in the Herald at the weekend. I know you are one of the few here still interested, and that situation is not going away …. The article/open letter very much align with what I learnt a week or so ago by going down some Google rabbit holes, but are still only the tip of the iceberg – but I will be discrete (eg no name).]

        • mickysavage 1.1.1.1
          18 December 2018 at 9:36 am

          Thanks VV

          Sroubek is interesting in that it has become National’s go to any time that the Ross invoked problems is raised. They can then say “whaddabout”. I did read Fisher’s article and thought he did give an interesting insight into what is happening.

          • veutoviper 1.1.1.1.1
            18 December 2018 at 10:08 am

            Actually I may just leave posting the Fisher article as according to Ardern this morning on Morning Report, the whole thing is likely to hit the press later in the week when ILG releases his OIA replies. Also will be interesting to see what happend in Qt today and tomorrow before the adjournment speeches.

            I actually believe that National will be slowly backing away from the Sroubek case as they may end up with egg on their faces. Mitchell went quiet last week and the Fisher article suggests why, but here that is much more which could do with an application of the business investigative journalism of Matt Nippert. NZ Ltd company records, particularly directors/shareholders etc can be very interesting but not my field. In that regard, the Czech seems to have been (or rather is still) a one off player whereas the in laws seem to have fingers in quite a few pies.

            But it is the time of year to – Relax Nz and NJoy drinks.

            And perhaps “read between the lines”. LOL.

        • Gabby 1.1.1.2
          18 December 2018 at 12:43 pm

          Does it explain how Woodlouse gets to read the PM’s texts?

          • veutoviper 1.1.1.2.1
            18 December 2018 at 1:38 pm

            No, quite a different focus – marital/business. May post it later today as I see Q1 today is again on this subject.

      • Anne 1.1.2
        18 December 2018 at 9:27 am

        You get the feeling that he spits out Union Socialist with venom. You know… one of those Stalin backed Communists wot want to take over the world and kill us or send us to a concentration camp in Siberia.

      • mary_a 1.1.3
        18 December 2018 at 10:41 am

        Good for you MS (1.1) … 🙂

        If Gilmore had a brain cell it would be lonely!

  2. ianmac 2
    18 December 2018 at 9:16 am

    A bit odd really. Would we welcome Gilmore in as an MP again? A shifty unreliable chap it seems.

  3. marty mars 3
    18 December 2018 at 10:36 am

    Gilmore is thoroughly unpleasant – could be gnat leader material. Prepare a parachute lol

    • peterlepaysan 3.1
      18 December 2018 at 8:12 pm

      YES! I can just see the perfect fit. A Collins Gilmore leadership team. Perfect!
      The business sector (Oz banks, Talleys etc would be in heaven.

    • McFlock 3.2
      18 December 2018 at 8:40 pm

      I thought the bit about making agreements he had no intention of honouring was particularly appropriate for the nats

  4. greywarshark 4
    18 December 2018 at 10:40 am

    What other phrases could Gilmore use to convey his loathing of this lawyer being a “well-known union socialist”.
    (To me he seems to be eminently suitable for the part of Toad in a Christmas play of The Wind in the Willows somewhere.) (Agency fee only 20%).

    Some derogatory phrases:
    ,,”a well-known souvenir teaspoon collector”.
    …”a well-known religious ornament collector”
    …”a well-known plastic war games figurine collector”

    Some wit is needed here which I feel I am lacking. Any alternatives come to mind of things beyond the pale?

    • Adrian 4.1
      18 December 2018 at 12:36 pm

      Gilmore ” He is a good friend of mine because he tells me that he is an ” Right Wing Onanist Acquaintenance Collector ” what ever the hell that is, but it sounds good eh. “

    • alwyn 4.2
      18 December 2018 at 1:32 pm

      Perhaps you could try the (apocryphal) claims that George Smathers is said to have used about the incumbent Claude Pepper in a 1950 Senate Democratic primary in Florida.

      “Mr. Smathers was supposed to have dazzled rural voters with a barrage of double talk that went like this: ”Are you aware that Claude Pepper is known all over Washington as a shameless extrovert? Not only that, but this man is reliably reported to practice nepotism with his sister-in-law and he has a sister who was once a thespian in wicked New York. Worst of all, it is an established fact that Mr. Pepper, before his marriage, habitually practiced celibacy.”

      Smathers won.

  5. Draco T Bastard 5
    18 December 2018 at 12:03 pm

    So, we can assume that he’s in full support of the free-market but doesn’t understand that litigation is part of that free-market. After all, people can’t be held responsible for their actions if there isn’t a way to do so.

    The courts are the way.

    Unfortunately, not everyone can afford to go take the scum to court.

  6. ken 6
    18 December 2018 at 6:09 pm

    Do I know who he is?

    • Wensleydale 6.1
      19 December 2018 at 1:10 pm

      A deeply unattractive man in every sense of the word, and therefore a perfect fit for the National Party. It’s only because he allowed his ego to eclipse his intellect (there’s a lot of it about these days, as Americans have learned to their detriment), that he failed to make a decent fist of things among his like-minded peers.

      He reminds me very much of Harry Enfield’s hilarious caricature, Tory Boy.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tory_Boy

  7. Richard McGrath 7
    24 December 2018 at 7:46 am

    “Infamity” or infamy?

  8. R.P Mcmurphy 8
    4 January 2019 at 8:26 pm

    gilmore i sbecoming well known as a complete and utter plonker!