A former mayor of Harrison Hot Springs has been ordered by the B.C. Supreme Court to compensate a local real estate agent with $160,000 in damages following the loss of a defamation lawsuit. Businessman Freddy Marks took legal action against ex-village politician John Allen over statements implying that Marks had used his political connections to gain improper advantages in real estate transactions. Justice Mark Underhill found five out of six publications, which included messages to influential community members and posts on a community Facebook group, to be defamatory.
The defamatory statements made by Allen included insinuations of corruption and backroom dealings by Marks, references to Adolf Hitler and the brown shirts, and a false claim that Marks had lied in court. Harrison Hot Springs, a close-knit community with approximately 1,900 residents located 95 kilometers east of Vancouver, was repeatedly mentioned in the court decision.
The judge characterized Allen’s comments, highlighting a specific instance in a letter sent to a village staff lawyer in November 2018. In the letter, Allen implicated Marks as part of a group profiting from a real estate deal associated with the Mayor. Despite Allen stating he was speculating, the judge determined that the remarks left the impression that Marks had engaged in illegal and unethical behavior, making them plainly defamatory.
Furthermore, Allen alleged in an email to the village’s corporate officer in June 2019 that Marks had engaged in a potential backroom deal with the municipality, comparing the behavior to that of con-men. The judge criticized the speculative nature of the email, stating that it suggested wrongdoing without concrete evidence. Allen’s remarks in a private Facebook group insinuating that Marks benefited from rezonings and favors from the former mayor were also deemed defamatory.
The court spent significant time addressing Allen’s baseless justifications, including irrelevant real estate transactions, with none proving Marks had unlawfully profited from rezoning or political favors. Additionally, Allen’s comments in an email to the Chamber of Commerce in November 2019, likening Marks’ conduct to individuals associated with Hitler’s regime, were considered defamatory by the judge.
Testimony revealed that Marks suffered health issues such as panic attacks, sleep disturbances, weight loss, and hypertension due to the defamation. Marks withdrew from volunteer activities, relinquished community leadership roles, and faced personal strain, including the dissolution of a family business relationship. The judge concluded that Allen had acted maliciously and with resentment towards those challenging his former prominent role in the community, emphasizing the harm caused by social media insinuations and innuendos.