2015 May 28

Kamloops-Cariboo Regional Immigrants Society v. Herman, 2015 BCSC 886

The British Columbia Supreme Court dismissed libel claims brought by the plaintiff non-profit society and its ex-president against a former executive director over a number of publications, including an email the defendant sent in October 2009 to another ex-employee, which was copied to four other people involved with the society. The Court held that although the email was defamatory, it was protected by the defence of fair comment, as there was some public interest relating to the operation of the non-profit society, and a reasonable person could hold the opinion expressed by the defendant. The email was not protected by the defence of responsible communication because the email “was not inviting public attention or comment; rather it was a private email communication between two former employees.” The Court also held that in any event, damages would only be nominal because the defendant had apologized for the email, circulation of the email was minimal, and there was no demonstrable damage to the individual plaintiff.