A former mayor of Harrison Hot Springs has been ordered to pay a local real estate agent $160,000 in damages after losing a defamation lawsuit.
Businessman Freddy Marks sued former village politician John Allen in B.C. Supreme Court over publications that he said suggested he had used a political relationship to “improperly benefit in real estate deals,” according to a judgment on Friday.
Justice Mark Underhill agreed that five of six publications, including messages to prominent community members and posts on a community Facebook group, were defamatory.
The defamatory comments included Allen insinuating Marks had engaged in “corruption and back-room dealing,” allusions to Adolf Hitler and the brown shirts, and an inaccurate allegation that Marks was found to have lied in court, according to the judgment.
Harrison Hot Springs, a village of about 1,900 residents around 95 kilometres east of Vancouver, is repeatedly referred to in the decision as a “tight-knit community.”
The judge described the comments, including one from a November 2018 letter to a village staff lawyer.
In it, Allen described Marks by name as part of “the little cabal of the Mayor’s buddies … who are making money off this deal,” referring to a real estate transaction.
While Allen said he was speculating, the judge said “the impression left is that Mr. Marks did actually engage in illegal and unethical conduct. That is plainly defamatory.”
In an email to the village’s corporate officer in June 2019, Allen alleged Marks had possibly made a “backroom deal” with the municipality and likened the behaviour to “con-men.” He also forwarded the email to four village councillors.
The judge said the email was “couched in more speculative language” than the letter to the village lawyer, but added it represents “the kind of ‘loose talk’ about potential wrong-doing that conveys the impression to a reasonable reader that such wrong-doing actually occurred.”
The judge added Allen also had not acknowledged that he did not have proof for any of the scenarios in his email.
Underhill also outlined a comment Allen made on a post in a private Facebook group called “Harrison Hot Springs News & Views.”
Allen alleged that Marks “makes money off rezonings” and “assorted favours” from the then-mayor Leo Facio.
The judge noted “an extraordinary amount of trial time” was spent pursuing Allen’s “meritless justification defenses,” including cross-examination on “a series of largely irrelevant real estate transactions.”
The judge said none of the examples established that Marks improperly profited from rezoning or political favours.
In an email to the local Chamber of Commerce in November 2019, which was forwarded to various chamber members and the RCMP, Underhill found Allen made comments that left the impression that Marks’ conduct was “akin to individuals associated with Hitler’s regime,” which the judge called “plainly defamatory.”
Marks is originally from Germany and two of his great-uncles were killed by the Nazis for their involvement in the Dutch resistance, according to the ruling. He testified to the profound impact of the publication and related comments about Nazis and said, “in our family, that’s the worst thing that can happen to you.”
Underhill said Allen acted with malice in publishing the defamatory remarks.
“It is my view that Mr. Allen’s hubris, and his resentment towards those who he perceived as challenging or supplanting his once prominent role in the community, is at the heart of this case.”
The judge described Allen’s language as “inflammatory and vitriolic.”
Marks testified he suffered impacts to his health, including panic attacks, sleeplessness, weight loss and high blood pressure, according to the judgment.
He also had to answer questions around “if there was any truth to the suggestion that he was taking money from people who wanted to re-zone their property.”
According to the ruling, Marks withdrew from various volunteer activities and resigned from community leadership positions. His daughter also dissolved the family business relationship she had with him, which she testified was “very painful for him.”
The judge said the case illustrates the significant harm that can happen through “insinuation and innuendo on social media.”
