Music: {allcanada} Ex-Leafs GM Brian Burke suing Internet posters for defamation

Friday, April 26, 2013

{allcanada} Ex-Leafs GM Brian Burke suing Internet posters for defamation

Brian Burke has filed an action in British Columbia's Supreme Court against some Internet trolls for defamatory statements and stories that they posted online.

Burke is out to silence a collection of online users with message board handles such as POONERMAN, SIR PSYCHO SEXY, SLOBBERFACE and STEVE. Why? Because they were spreading what his legal team is calling defamatory statements about the real reason why Burke was fired as GM of the Maple Leafs.

In the comments posted, it was said that Burke had an affair with a female reporter, Hazel Mae, and that he fathered a child with her. As you could guess by the lawsuit, he strongly denies that happened. From Matt Kieltyk of Metro News.

"The Defamatory Statements were made with the knowledge that they were false or with a reckless disregard for their truth," the notice of civil claim reads.

"The Defamatory Statements have been published, republished, downloaded, viewed and commented on by persons in British Columbia and Ontario and throughout Canada and the United States by various means, including through email, internet bulletin board postings, Facebook pages and Twitter messages, and have harmed the Plaintiff's reputation in, amongst other jurisdictions, British Columbia, Ontario, and other parts of Canada and the United States."

"In publishing the Defamatory Statements, the Defendants were motivated by actual and express malice, and had the intention of damaging the Plaintiff's reputation."

You can actually see the entire letter that was sent by Burke's legal staff as was published on the site torontomike.com in January. The whole lawsuit can be seen here (.PDF).

I don't know much about the defamation/libel laws in Canada. But in the United States, he would have to prove the key elements made in this statement, chiefly that the statements were patently false and presented with blatent or reckless disregard for the truth. My understanding is that it is easier to win a libel/defamation suit in Canada vs. the USA, so Burke has that going for him.

What I'm not sure about is how the messages coming from online postings will matter. That's a different realm online; it gets a bit trickier.

I admire what Burke is trying to do here. Even if the suit is unsuccessful in terms of damages, it does send a pretty strong message that he denies what was rumored.