A judge struck out allegations of nepotism and cronyism made against former Premier Ewart Brown and Deputy Premier Derrick Burgess by an architect they are suing in Canada.The architect, Sam Spagnuolo, alleged in court papers that the company contracted to build Hamilton’s new court and police station appointed Mr Burgess’s cousin and Dr Brown’s half-brother as silent, non-voting partners.The politicians’ lawyers asked the judge in the case, Thomas Lederer, to strike the allegations from the record. Mr Spagnolo’s lawyer, Sarah Shody, conceded that they should be.Ms Shody also conceded that a further allegation from Mr Spagnoulo that the best man at Dr Brown’s wedding, Dennis Correia, was appointed as a consultant to the project, should be struck out.However, she stood her ground over the architect’s claims that the construction company picked for the project, Landmark Lisgar, was selected against his company’s recommendations and prompted serious concerns over its handling of the job.The judge agreed with Ms Shody that those allegations should be allowed to stand as part of the defence case, ruling that they are relevant to the proceedings.Dr Brown and Mr Burgess are suing Mr Spagnuolo and another architect, Lawrence Brady, for $2 million each. They launched the civil legal action in January 2011 over the so-called “false cheques” affair.Mr Spagnuolo is the lead architect with Toronto-based firm Carruthers Shaw and Partners [CS&P], and was involved in the police and court building project until he was terminated from it by Government in December 2008. As payment certifier, he oversaw all claims for payment.In papers summarising their case against Mr Spagnuolo at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the politicians allege that he is guilty of conspiracy and defamation. They claim he created false copies of cheques to make it look like they were taking kickbacks in relation to the project.In late 2008 and early 2009, they say, two “purported cheques” were discovered in files at the Ministry of Works and Engineering. They say the “purported cheques” were altered copies of legitimate cheques drawn on the bank account of Landmark Lisgar and paid to suppliers and vendors.The altered copies of the cheques had been falsely manipulated so as to appear to be payable to “Dr, E. Brown” and “D. Burgess,” according to the politicians. Mr Burgess was the Minister of Works and Engineering at the time.The politicians allege Mr Spagnuolo created the false cheques and was part of a conspiracy to plant them in the files of the Ministry and to ensure they would come to public attention. They allege he plotted with Bermudian architect Mr Brady to “tip off” the Auditor General, in order to create a public scandal about the cheques.They accuse Mr Brady, who is Government’s Chief Architect and the brother-in-law of this newspaper’s editor, Bill Zuill, of conspiracy. Both architects strenuously deny the allegations against them.Mr Spagnuolo filed a statement of defence in the case a year ago, which was the subject of pretrial legal arguments at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice last month. Mr Brady was not represented during the proceedings.The lawyers for Dr Brown and Mr Burgess, Charles Scott and Christine Muir, asked the judge to strike out allegations in Mr Spagnuolo’s statement that Government awarded Landmark Lisgar the contract against the recommendation of CS&P. They said his concerns over the way the company handled the project should be struck out for being “irrelevant, scandalous, frivolous and vexatious”.However, ruling that Mr Spagnuolo’s claims should remain part of the defence case, the judge said: “To my mind, the paragraphs in question are relevant and have potential probative value.”He invited written submissions from each side as to costs. It remains unclear when the trial itself will get underway.On April 10, the day before the judge’s ruling was released in Canada, Dr Brown announced he has called upon the British Government to investigate and admonish departing Governor Richard Gozney.He alleged that Sir Richard failed to take “appropriate and necessary action” to ensure the culprits behind the false cheques were “hunted to the ends of the earth”. Dr Brown suggested police from London could have been brought in by the Governor to look into the issue, or he could have pressed it with the Canadian Government.Bermuda Police probed the possible involvement of a “Canadian firm of architects” in the false cheque conspiracy in collaboration with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, according to a special report released by the Auditor General in January. The investigation did not reveal any wrongdoing by the firm.In response to Dr Brown, the Governor insisted the matter was investigated thoroughly and that it is up to the Canadian authorities to consider whether anyone should answer charges there.The Auditor General’s report also said Cabinet’s decision to fund Dr Brown and Minister Burgess’s civil suit in Canada against Mr Brady and Mr Spagnuolo to the tune of more than $30,000 was an inappropriate use of public funds. Government terminated its contract with the law firm as a result, but the same firm continued to act for the politicians during last month’s hearing.Dr Brown said he sent submissions outlining his concerns about the Governor, via his lawyers, to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London.In a statement over the weekend, an FCO spokesperson said: “We can confirm that the FCO has received a letter and submission from lawyers, acting on behalf of Dr Brown. We will reply accordingly.”