Frank Stronach leaves a Peel Regional Police station on June 26.Cole Burston/The Globe and Mail
The granddaughter of Frank Stronach is seeking a judicial order that would force the family business to turn over any legal settlements and human-resources complaints relating to allegations of sexual assault that may have been made against the auto parts magnate, court records show.
In a notice of motion filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, lawyers representing Selena Stronach argue that recent allegations of sexual misconduct against her grandfather likely “occurred in the corporate environment and included the misuse of corporate assets.”
Mr. Stronach’s granddaughter is suing her aunt, Belinda Stronach, and others over alleged mismanagement of the family’s fortune. Belinda Stronach is the chairman, chief executive officer and president of the Stronach Group, a collection of entities and businesses – most notably involving racing and gambling – that is owned by a network of Stronach family trusts.
Selena Stronach and her father, Andrew Stronach, filed lawsuits in 2019 alleging that Frank Stronach’s fortune has not been distributed evenly among his heirs. In this latest filing, his granddaughter has argued that any settlement payments linked to Frank Stronach’s alleged sexual impropriety are relevant to her claim.
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Through her lawyer, Belinda Stronach said she will be opposing the disclosure request. In her statement, she also addressed the criminal charges that were laid against her father in June.
“The allegations against my father are deeply disturbing. As that matter is before the courts, I cannot comment further,” Ms. Stronach said.
Belinda Stronach of the Stronach Group looks on from the winners circle during the 148th Running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on May 20, 2023 in Baltimore, Maryland.Rob Carr/Getty Images
Frank Stronach, the 91-year-old founder of Magna International MG-T, faces 13 charges including rape, forcible confinement, indecent assault and sexual assault. The incidents involve 10 complainants and span years from the late 1970s through to 2024.
Mr. Stronach has denied the criminal accusations. In a statement from his lawyer, Brian Greenspan, Mr. Stronach has urged the public to respect the legal principle of the presumption of innocence. “He will respond to these allegations in a fair and public court of law.”
Selena Stronach is being represented by Lax O’Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb.
In the weeks after Mr. Stronach’s arrest, further allegations against the Magna founder have been reported, including a first-person account published in The Globe and Mail by author Jane Boon, who described having sex with Mr. Stronach when she was a 19-year-old student working at Magna and he was 54. The incident took place at Magna’s corporate guest house, she wrote.
Ms. Boon’s piece is cited in Selena Stronach’s application.
“The media coverage includes an account of Mr. Stronach using corporate resources and settings to engage in alleged predatory sexual conduct,” reads the latest motion, which has not been tested in court. “It is likely that records exist which reveal a pattern of misconduct by Mr. Stronach that includes corporate knowledge and, potentially, facilitation and cover-up.”
Born in Austria, Mr. Stronach founded Magna International in 1957 and grew the business into one of the world’s largest auto parts suppliers. Mr. Stronach resigned as Magna’s chairman in 2011 to take an ultimately unsuccessful run at politics in Austria. Around the same time, the Stronach family divested its controlling stake in Magna. At that point, much of Mr. Stronach’s vast wealth – which in 2018 was estimated to be US$1.5-billion by Forbes magazines – was funnelled into the Stronach Group.
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In 2016, the Stronach Group announced Belinda Stronach as chair. Five years later, she was formally announced as the group’s CEO and president. (The previous CEO, Alon Ossip, who is also a defendant in Selena Stronach’s lawsuit, had been on a leave of absence since January, 2017.)
The latest court motion, which was filed with the court earlier this week, includes correspondence between Marie Henein – who is representing Andrew Stronach in his litigation – and lawyers for Belinda Stronach and Mr. Ossip. Ms. Henein wrote to the lawyers after Frank Stronach was first charged, questioning whether the parties had met their disclosure obligations.
“A question at the trial will be, what did Mr. Ossip, Ms. Stronach, and their leadership team know about the allegations against Frank Stronach and his underlying conduct,” she wrote. “Further, information will have to be disclosed about any payments that were made by any of the Stronach entities as a result of these allegations. Who was involved in or had knowledge of such payments will have to be disclosed.”
Mr. Ossip’s lawyer, Mark Gelowitz, replied that the issues raised by Ms. Henein are not relevant to the litigation.
The motion materials include an affidavit signed by Andrew Stronach, which states that he only had knowledge of one allegation of sexual misconduct against his father before last month. Andrew Stronach says that, when his father was the chair of Magna, he was told by a then-senior executive within the company, Keith Stein, that a woman had alleged she was sexually harassed by his father. The affidavit provides no information about that alleged incident, including the timing.
Mr. Stein did not respond to a request for comment.
In 2002, Frank Stronach was sued for wrongful dismissal by Nicole Will, who was a 21-year-old bartender at the Magna Golf Club. Ms. Will alleged she had to rebuff Mr. Stronach’s efforts to get her to play tennis with him and obtain her phone number, advances that she says ultimately led to her resignation. Mr. Stronach denied inflicting mental distress on Ms. Will. The two reached a confidential out-of-court settlement.
In response to questions from The Globe, Tracy Fuerst, a vice-president of corporate communications at Magna, did not address questions about potential settlements involving the auto parts supplier. She said the company has no knowledge of the allegations related to the Stronach Group.
“All that we can add is that it has been more than a decade since Mr. Stronach held a position of ownership or executive control at Magna,” she said.