Businessman Daniel Bard has had his share of legal troubles in recent years. He has been sued by contractors in a civil case and is the subject of a police investigation. He was nowhere to be found for almost three years.

He was arrested in Edmundston last March and arraigned in Moncton Provincial Court in early July. He faces 19 criminal charges, including fraud, theft and money laundering.

The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is also on his trail. She went to the New Brunswick Small Claims Court in January 2020 to recover several thousand dollars.

She demands that Daniel Bard pay her a $15,172 credit card debt and a $660 overdraft (an account with negative balance). She is also claiming the interest accrued on these amounts since December 2019 at 24.99% and 22% per annum respectively.

The defendant has so far refused to payclaims the RBC in his complaint.

All the money demanded from Daniel Bard RBC — consisting of credit card debt, overdrafts, and interest — meets the New Brunswick Small Claims Court limit of $20,000.

Unsuccessful attempts to find Daniel Bard

After the lawsuit was filed in small claims court in January 2020, RBC attempted to have a copy delivered to Daniel Bard as required. However, she could not find him.

The businessman – a former vice president of 3+, Greater Moncton’s business development agency – had been in his sights for months at this point allegations of fraud and through civil lawsuits. He was nowhere to be found.

A first attempt was made in September 2020 at Daniel Bard’s last known home address in Dieppe, without success.

In February 2022, lawyers for the RBC used the services of a law firm specializing in the search for persons in court proceedings. An agent obtained phone numbers and tried several times to reach Daniel Bard.

In an affidavit, she says she spoke to an elderly lady from Edmundston who was believed to be a member of her family. This lady would then have said that she did not know where Daniel Bard was.

Just a few weeks later, in March 2022, Daniel Bard was arrested in Edmundston.

RBC gets permission to do things differently

1^ah On June 1, 2022, the Royal Bank of Canada filed a lawsuit in Small Claims Court. In the document, she summarizes unsuccessful efforts over the past few years to provide a copy of her request to Daniel Bard.

She is asking for delay and permission to communicate her claim to Daniel Bard other than by handing over documents, whether it be through an advertisement in an English-language daily newspaper Telegraph Journal.

A hearing on the matter was held in Moncton on July 22. Small Claims Court Arbitrator Lucie LaBoissonnière rendered her decision on July 26. In the document obtained by Radio-Canada Acadie, she accepts the request of the RBC.

She gives him until January 25, 2023 to publish a message in the Telegraph Journal. Daniel Bard has 60 days from publication to respond to the financial institution’s request.