2021 July 20

Port Alberni Shelter Society v. Literacy Alberni Society, 2021 BCSC 1754

The British Columbia Supreme Court, assessing the plaintiffs’ damages following a default judgment on liability issues, made a libel damages award in favour of the plaintiff society and the two individual plaintiffs aggregating $344,720.75.   The libels, which the Court found were serious and continued up to the eve of the Court hearing to assess damages, were published by email, YouTube videos, a Change.org petition, and on Facebook.   The defendant society and its Executive Director Graham Hughes were held jointly liable to pay:  (a) $100,000 general damages and $25,000 aggravated damages to the plaintiff Hewitt; (b)$100,000 general damages and $25,000 aggravated damages to the plaintiff Douglas; (c) $75,000 general damages to the plaintiff society.  The Court also ordered the individual defendant Hughes to pay $25,000 punitive damages, to be shared equally by the plaintiff society and the two individual plaintiffs.  The defendant Hughes was also ordered to remove all of the defamatory publications from the Internet and enjoined from future defamatory statements.