2011 June 3

Wright (c.o.b. Wright Design Concepts) v Van Gaalen, 2011 BCSC 707

The British Columbia Supreme Court awarded the plaintiff sprinkler system designer $14,750 general damages over a defamatory email sent by the defendant to a customer of the plaintiff. The Court held that because the email was sent only to a specific individual on a single occasion, this weighed in favour of a lower award. Significantly, the plaintiff had failed to claim damages for actual monetary loss. The Court stated that “[t]his is unfortunate because there was evidence in the trial that was capable of demonstrating specific losses arising from [the email recipient’s] decision to stop referring meaningful design work to [the plaintiff].” In arriving at the figure of $14,750, the Court reduced damages by “the nominal amount of $250 in light of the unspecified offer of a retraction.”