Kahnawake, Quebec businessman Joe Stacey had no idea when he leased a new vehicle in the fall of 1996 that his identity would be part of the transaction.

"I want my name cleared once and for all," Stacey told The Montreal Gazette's Mike King on Feb. 28 after the scheduled start of a trial for the civil lawsuit he launched was postponed.

Stacey, 48, is suing a South Shore automobile dealership and one of its former salesmen, alleging intentional and illicit misuse and misappropriation of his name, correspondence and personal documents to negotiate a contract to which he wasn't a party, according to a story by King in the March 1 edition of the Gazette.

He also claims that Sauve Plymouth Chrysler in Mercier, Quebec and its sales agent Raymond Dugas intentionally and illicitly used information concerning him -- information that was contained in the dealership's files "for purposes inconsistent with the purposes for which the file was established and for clearly illegal ends," according to the suit filed in Quebec Court at the end of December 1999.

Stacey, a tobacco products and confectionery retailer on the Mohawk reserve, alleges that Sauve Plymouth Chrysler "exhibited gross recklessness, gross carelessness and gross negligence" in hiring Dugas and failing to adequately supervise him, according to King's story.

Stacey's ordeal began in September 1996, when he leased a 1997 Grand Cherokee from Dugas.

Court documents show that, at the time of the transaction, Stacey provided the salesman with detailed personal financial information including proof of his Indian status; his employment; his investments; and his bank accounts.

One or two months later, Stacey said he received a phone call at work from Dugas asking if Stacey was interested in allowing him to use his name and band number to buy a car and avoid paying the sales tax, according to the Gazette.

When Stacey refused to cooperate and declined a $2,000 offer, he said Dugas then asked if he knew another Kahnawake resident who would be willing to share his band number, King reported.

Stacey said he didn't and claims he had no further dealings with Dugas after that phone conversation.

But in mid-April 1997, Stacey said, he was contacted by Primus Automotive Financial Services Canada asking when he was going to make payments on his $45,000 Land Rover.

"I didn't even know what a Land Rover was," he told King on Feb. 28.

Primus then faxed Stacey a copy of the sales contract for the Land Rover, insured by Wawanesa Mutual Insurance, in his name. The $1,200 monthly payments were to be drawn on a Toronto-Dominion Bank account.

Not only did Stacey never have an account with TD, he had never had an insurance policy with Wawanesa, according to King.

Stacey did learn, however, that the attestation of the lease was filed in December 1996 with the Quebec automobile insurance board, signed by Dugas on behalf of Sauve Plymouth Chrysler.

When Stacey tried to phone Dugas at Sauve, he was told that the salesman had been dismissed. "The Sauve owner apologized, but did nothing else," Stacey said.

In its defence, the dealership has denied that Stacey suffered damage and an invasion of his privacy as the result of fraudulent use of his name by the company and its agent, according to the Gazette.

Sauve's lawyer, Jean-Francois Soucy, also denied Stacey's claim that the dealership allowed the plaintiff's information in its files to be used for illegal purposes.

As a result of the non-payment on the Land Rover -- as well as Montreal parking tickets issued to the vehicle -- Stacey received a poor credit rating, according to King.

He said the chain of events left him "completely overwhelmed."

It wasn't until last year that he was able to clear his credit rating.

He had instructed his lawyer, David Schulze, to obtain copies of all relevant credit histories.

With the intervention of Primus, Stacey was able to rectify his credit history.

Although Stacey filed a fraud complaint with the Kahnawake Peacekeepers in April 1997, the reserve police force turned the matter over to the Surete du Quebec, which ultimately took the case to Revenu Quebec.

No criminal charges were laid against Dugas or his employer, according to the Gazette.

Dugas, who didn't appear in court Feb. 28 for "medical reasons," leading to the indefinite adjournment, could not be reached for comment, King reported.