Article: Shatner's son sues for $170m

Christopher Halsey · Posted Thu 31 Mar, 2016 6:01 PM

You can view the article at https://ufplanets.com/content.php?75...s-son-sues-for

Bar'ol · Posted Thu 31 Mar, 2016 7:27 PM

No offense but these kinda of cases always get me rattled up. Especially this, "Sloan is seeking $170m in total. $30m in compensatory damages, $90m in punitive damages and $50mfor pain and suffering." Damages? Pain and suffering? Oh come on.

Christopher Halsey · Posted Thu 31 Mar, 2016 7:37 PM

Originally Posted by Gunges

No offense but these kinda of cases always get me rattled up. Especially this, "Sloan is seeking $170m in total. $30m in compensatory damages, $90m in punitive damages and $50mfor pain and suffering." Damages? Pain and suffering? Oh come on.

I'm guessing most of that would be for the alleged "malicious, libelous and slanderous statements" that he claims to have been subjected to but even then that does seem like rather a lot of money, personally I don't think there is anything you could say to someone that would warrant 10s of millions of Dollars in compensation.

Dark · Posted Thu 31 Mar, 2016 7:41 PM

Shouldn't this be "man claiming to be Shatner's son"?

Christopher Halsey · Posted Thu 31 Mar, 2016 7:56 PM

Originally Posted by Dark

Shouldn't this be "man claiming to be Shatner's son"?

Sadly when writing the headlines for news stories we don't have much space to work with.

O'Neill · Posted Thu 31 Mar, 2016 9:05 PM

While it wouldn't be surprising if Kirk did in fact ended up populating the Milky Way with his offspring, I'm a bit skeptical with the paternity claim from Sloan and the seeking of compensation for "pain and suffering." It seems like the motive is greed. Also, the fact that Sloan spoke to Inside Edition makes me doubt his claims even more. That "news" show is pretty much a version Fox News that is devoted to celebrity gossip.

Silynn · Posted Thu 31 Mar, 2016 9:15 PM

Unbelievable. This is one of many things wrong with modern society. "Oh, I am sad and upset, therefore you owe me $170 million (US)... so I can be happy." When will this madness stop?

Obviously any ambulance chaser will take this case as they'd hope to cash in one any settlement they can get. Greed. Pure Greed is at work here.

Christopher Halsey · Posted Thu 31 Mar, 2016 9:31 PM

Whilst Shatner has said he isn't his son I haven't found anything saying that Shatner ever denied meeting him years ago. The amount Sloan is claiming definitely does seem to suggest he is in it to either make some money or to really force the issue but since this lawsuit is recent what do people think about the claims that he first approached Shatner during the 80s?

Has Sloan been biding his time waiting to file a lawsuit which was always his end goal or does he (rightly or wrongly) genuinely believe (or want to believe) that Shatner is his father?

Three of Seven · Posted Thu 31 Mar, 2016 10:42 PM

Originally Posted by Silynn

Unbelievable. This is one of many things wrong with modern society. "Oh, I am sad and upset, therefore you owe me $170 million (US)... so I can be happy." When will this madness stop?

I'll be honest, $170 million (US) would make me quite happy, so if you can find me a reason to get such an amount without needing to do much, that'd be great!

I do think it's a bit of a silly lawsuit, how do you calculate emotional distress or whatever, certainly not that amount unless for some reason, there has been some real public hate sent to them and their family. Would be easy for Shatner to take a test to either confirm or deny this statement, both parties have been a bit silly.

Christopher Halsey · Posted Thu 31 Mar, 2016 10:53 PM

Originally Posted by Three of Seven

Would be easy for Shatner to take a test to either confirm or deny this statement, both parties have been a bit silly.

According to Shatner's representatives quite a few people have claimed he was their father. I can imagine quite a few other famous people have numerous people claiming to be their children as well. I could imagine in that position being annoyed if I had to be tested every time someone made such a claim.

On the other hand if I genuinely thought someone was my father I would be pretty motivated to have a test done to find out whether or not I was and in this case if it really has been going on for more than 30 years as Sloan claims then I would have thought Shatner would probably just consent to get it over and done with, seems like far less hassle.

Mark Okuda · Posted Sat 02 Apr, 2016 3:57 PM

It seems to me that if he wanted this to go away he would get the test done and done with it unless he believes that Sloan may be his child

Christopher Halsey · Posted Sun 03 Apr, 2016 12:00 PM

Originally Posted by Mark Okuda

It seems to me that if he wanted this to go away he would get the test done and done with it unless he believes that Sloan may be his child

Do you think there should be an expectation that under such circumstances someone submit to a test?

aceman67 · Posted Sun 03 Apr, 2016 6:39 PM

Originally Posted by Christopher Halsey

Do you think there should be an expectation that under such circumstances someone submit to a test?

No, it's a violation of privacy, and in Canada, a violation of their rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and I'm pretty sure it's unconstitutional in the US as well.

The onus of proof is on the claimant.

Only a court order can compel a paternity test, and the claimant has to convince a judge that there're sufficient grounds to do so.

As much as I don't like Shatner (how he treated James Doohan at his last convention appearance pretty much soured my opinion of the man for all time), I don't want to see him swindled out of money fraudulantly.

Christopher Halsey · Posted Sun 03 Apr, 2016 6:44 PM

So we seem to have two camps emerging.

On the one side the "Shatner, just take the test and settle this".

On the other the "it isn't for Shatner to provide the proof".

Infinity · Posted Mon 04 Apr, 2016 2:26 AM

Definitely interested to see how this plays out, I'm going to remain neutral and and try to not form an opinion. After all, the guy could either be correct or not.

Article: Shatner's son sues for $170m

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