They allege the founder of Future Electronics had sex with them when they were minors.
The lawyer representing dozens of women who allege billionaire Robert Miller paid to have sex with them when they were minors says there could be 100 plaintiffs in the case by the time it ends.
During a break in a hearing held at the Montreal courthouse on Wednesday, Jeff Orenstein, the lawyer representing the women, told reporters there are 51 plaintiffs in the case now.
“At the end of all this, we think that 100 are implicated in this. There are 51 who are signed up,” Orenstein said, adding the plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages. “Each person is saying that Robert Miller paid to have sex with them while they were minors.
“We are seeking damages because, according to us, it was illegal.”
The lawyer said at least three of the plaintiffs are seeking $1.5 million each in punitive damages.
One of the plaintiffs is alleging she was 11 years old when Miller began having sex with her and that the relationship continued until she was 20. According to a judgment delivered in the case earlier this year, the woman alleges Miller had sex with her at least 30 times and sometimes a few times per month.
Orenstein said the woman will be seeking more in damages from Miller because of her young age when he is alleged to have begun having sex with her.
Karim Renno, a lawyer representing Miller in the class-action lawsuit, said the founder of Future Electronics in Pointe-Claire denies he ever had sex with minors.
As part of the case, Miller is asking that the identities of the plaintiffs be revealed to him so he can defend himself. So far, the plaintiffs are only identified by their initials.
“A person isn’t able to make a defence when (the plaintiffs) are able to hide their identities,” Renno told reporters. “(They should identify themselves) at least to Mr. Miller so he can respond to the accusation. When we accuse somebody and refuse to be identified, the person can’t defend himself. That is why Mr. Miller is contesting.”
Renno also said Miller suffers from Parkinson’s disease and is too ill to appear in court.
Miller was initially investigated by the Montreal police child sexual-exploitation squad more than a decade ago. The results of the investigation were submitted to two prosecutors with the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions. According to what police sources told The Gazette back then, one prosecutor decided criminal charges should be filed against Miller and the other decided against filing charges. The sources said the prosecutors had to agree in order for criminal charges to be filed.
Last year, Radio-Canada’s Enquête aired a documentary that featured interviews with several women who questioned why nothing came of that investigation. After the documentary aired, the Montreal police reopened the investigation and several women began the class action.
Renno repeated a few times on Wednesday that Miller’s position is “he never had sexual relations with anyone who was under the age of 18. That was the conclusion that was reached by the (Montreal) police investigation in 2009 before it reopened the investigation in 2023.”
The hearing on Wednesday was held to deal with an issue involving one of the plaintiffs. Miller is arguing the plaintiff previously told an employee of Garda, the private security firm, that she did not know Miller at all. Now the same person is claiming she had sex with Miller when she was under 18.
Garda was hired by Miller’s now ex-wife to investigate whether he was having sex outside of their marriage.
One of two witnesses called to testify on Wednesday was a woman who said she worked as a double agent for Garda in the past. She said she approached “several” young females as part of Garda’s investigation many years ago.
Orenstein is seeking to have evidence of what the plaintiff said to Garda excluded from the case.
Miller sold his company shortly after a report aired on Radio-Canada’s Enquête early in 2023 quoting women who alleged they had sex with Miller in exchange for money or gifts when they were minors.
In April this year, WT Microelectronics Co. Ltd., the Taiwan-based company that purchased Future Electronics, issued a statement saying it “successfully completed its acquisition of Future Electronics Inc. for an enterprise value of US$3.8 billion.”
Earlier this month, in a different civil lawsuit, a Quebec Superior Court judge ordered that legal liens be placed on two houses owned by Miller in Westmount. In that case as well, four women allege he paid to have sex with them while they were minors.
Earlier this year, Miller was arrested by the Montreal police on charges of sexual exploitation involving 10 victims, some of whom were minors at the time. The crimes are alleged to have taken place between 1994 and 2016. The charges Miller face include sexual assault, procuring, sexual exploitation, sexual interference and sexual intercourse with a minor for consideration.
The two criminal cases return to court in December.