2026 June 20

Beynon v. Lavender,  2024 BCSC 2697

The British Columbia Supreme Court awarded $75,000 for general and aggravated damages.  The Court noted the defendant made no attempt to prove the truth of the defamatory accusations, which were serious, and had continued the allegations even after the notice of civil claim was served on him.  In fact, the defendant made additional allegations, without any  basis in fact.  The statements were made in direct messages to the community and in stories on Instagram, where the defendant had an account with 3,073 followers and posts were available to anyone with an Instagram account. The Court also ordered the defendant not to publish or distribute any statements about or referring in any way to the plaintiff, except when made in conditions of absolute privilege, including any confidential discussions with a lawyer or in any submissions to the Court.