Former Harrison Hot Springs mayor ordered to pay $160,000 for defaming man

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A former mayor of Harrison Hot Springs has been ordered to pay $160,000 for referring to a village resident as a con man and a liar and someone who was acting like one of Hitler’s brownshirts, according to a B.C. Supreme Court judgment.

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John Allen made the comments between 2018 and 2023 about Freddy Marks in a letter, two emails and two Facebook posts. They harmed Marks’s reputation, particularly by calling him a Nazi, Justice Mark Underhill wrote in a recent judgment.

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Marks immigrated to Canada from Germany. He had served in the German army, and “importantly for the events underlying this case,” two of his great-uncles were hanged by the Nazis for being in the Dutch resistance, Underhill wrote.

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The judge awarded Marks $110,000 in damages and $60,000 for aggravated damages after hearing from several witnesses during a 19-day trial.

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Allen referred to Marks, a longtime town realtor, as one of those “con men” in comment about real estate deals and Marks’s dealings with village officials, and made a number of remarks about Hitler’s notorious henchmen called the brownshirts, including “I don’t recall the colour of his (Marks’s) shirt tonight” after a local meeting, the ruling explained.

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“Mr. Marks and other witnesses testified that they understood the reference to the ‘colour of his shirt’ to be a reference to Hitler’s brownshirts,” the judge wrote.

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“This case is another unfortunate illustration of the significant harm that can be occasioned by insinuation and innuendo on social media, and the legal risks that individuals face when they choose that form of expression over frank and transparent commentary,” the judge wrote

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“Mr. Allen’s hubris, and his resentment toward those who he perceived as challenging or supplanting his once prominent role in the community, is at the heart of this case,” he wrote.

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“The impugned publications consist primarily of insinuation and innuendo, as is common in the social media age.”

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Marks wasn’t required to prove loss or injury to be awarded general damages, which he based on precedents, but Underhill said there was evidence of damage justifying the additional aggravated damages.

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That included that Marks suffered panic attacks, sleeplessness, stomach problems, weight loss and high blood pressure, and that the Nazi comment had a “profound impact” on him, because, as Marks told court, “in our family, that’s the worst thing that can happen to you.”

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Marks resigned from the village’s advisory planning commission and the chamber of commerce after he faced questions about Allen’s comments and stopped volunteering or going out much, according to the judgment.

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“I am satisfied that Mr. Allen has engaged in the kind of high-handed conduct which increased the mental distress and humiliation of Mr. Marks that merits an award of aggravated damages,” he said.

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“A particularly important factor here is the impact of the Hitler comparisons on Mr. Marks in light of his personal family history and the loss of family members to the Nazi regime,” wrote Underhill.

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Allen, in an email sent by his lawyer, said he was “very disappointed” with the judgment, feels “revictimized” by the lawsuit, and is consulting a lawyer about his next step.

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