Verb. To protest someone not answering a message that was
never sent. Or, to protest someone not returning something that was
never sent.
History -
Mr McDougall was a Regina, Saskatchewan lawyer in the early days of the Province. When he didn't want to deal with a
case he would write an indignant letter to opposing counsel. "I am outraged that you have not seen fit to respond to my correspondence of such-and-such a date." Of course, there was not correspondence from Mr McDougall on that date. Or, he would demand the return of documents he had forwarded, when, in fact, he had
never sent those document. The opposing lawyer would then spend a huge amount of time trying to find the missing documents. Older lawyers in the area of Saskatchewan, Canada, still refer to the practice as "McDougalizing a case."
