Gordie Howe settles spying lawsuit

Howe elbows house snoops

At 79 years of age, the hard-nosed hockey legend – maybe the toughest of them all, if a gentle soul off the ice – can still bring it.

Sep 27, 2007 07:59 AM

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Gordie Howe has reached a compromise in his lawsuit against a spying neighbour who has been conducting surveillance on the hockey legend's home.

After three hours of closed-door negotiating, Howe told Oakland County Circuit Judge Edward Sosnick he would drop his lawsuit if Lionel and Karen Dorfman stop snooping on him. He also agreed Wednesday to let a township attorney visit a Royal Oak address to prove he uses it as an office, The Detroit News reported.

In turn, the Dorfmans agreed to keep only two cameras running – neither of which would be pointed at Howe's Bloomfield Township home.

Howe, 79, was the subject of a residential association dispute for more than a year.

He won a temporary restraining order against the Dorfmans after discovering they had three cameras trained on his home, keeping tabs on his activities.

The former Detroit Red Wings star and his wife, Colleen, filed an eight-count stalking lawsuit. The Howes claimed the Dorfmans, a retired couple in their 70s, engaged in unlawful eavesdropping and invasion of privacy.

The Howes alleged the Dorfmans have had a camera snapping photos of their house every five seconds – more than 17,000 photos a day.

The Dorfmans claimed the Howes have used their home for business purposes since 2006 in violation of homeowner association rules and township law.[/q]