CANADA
The Tyee
By Bob Mackin, Today, TheTyee.ca
Laura Robinson on the ruling: ‘I fought this case through trial because I believe that freedom of speech and freedom of the press are vital to an open and democratic society.’
A journalist’s claim that former Vancouver Olympics CEO John Furlong defamed her after she reported allegations against him in a 2012 news story has been struck down.
After freelancer Laura Robinson’s story was published, Furlong alleged in public statements that she was a bad reporter and an activist with a personal vendetta. In her Jan. 2014 defamation lawsuit, Robinson denied those allegations and claimed Furlong was more interested in discrediting her than protecting his own reputation.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Wedge ruled on Sept. 18 that Furlong’s statements were within the law and not motivated by malice.
Wedge wrote that the central issue of the two-week defamation trial, which concluded in June, was whether Robinson attacked Furlong’s character and conduct in such a way that he was entitled to strike back with the words that he used.
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