Posted on 01/29/2014 7:14:41 AM PST by conniew
By Andrew Duffy, OTTAWA CITIZEN January 28, 2014
OTTAWA — The online political forum, Free Dominion, has shut down after a wholesale defeat in a libel case brought by Ottawa human rights lawyer Richard Warman.
A jury concluded that Warman was maliciously defamed by four commentators on Free Dominion, a website that bills itself as “the voice of principled conservatism.”
Warman has been awarded more than $127,000 in general damages, aggravated damages, punitive damages and court costs because of 41 defamatory statements published on the conservative website in 2007.
Warman rose to prominence during the past decade by using the Canadian Human Rights Act to shut down the websites of people spreading hate speech; it made him the target of free speech advocates in the conservative blogosphere, and on websites such as Free Dominion.
In a recently released decision, Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Smith granted Warman a permanent injunction that prohibits Free Dominion from ever repeating “in any manner whatsoever” any of the 41 defamations.
The website’s operators, Connie and Mark Fournier, of Kingston, this week shut down freedominion.ca, saying they could not control what comments other people posted.
“By leaving the forum open and allowing people to comment, we’d be opening ourselves to a contempt-of-court charge,” Connie Fournier said Tuesday.
“If someone repeated one of those comments, we would be in trouble — and could even go to jail.”
The Fourniers have operated the website as a “labour of love” for the past 13 years.
“It’s really sad to be at the point where we have to shut down the political forum,” she said. “But we’ve come to the point where it would be crazy for us to keep it open: it would be too much of a risk.”
They have vowed to appeal the defamation case and have launched a campaign on Indiegogo.com to raise money for their legal costs. The campaign has so far raised $2,800 of its $25,000 goal.
The Warman case is among the first to address at trial what constitutes defamation in the caustic political blogosphere. It adds to case law that suggests the Internet does not shield anonymous posters from legal action if they wrongfully attack someone’s reputation.
On his website, Warman said the case offers lessons for anyone involved in an Internet blog or forum. Chief among them, he said, is the idea that “If you make a mistake, admit it, repair the harm, and move on.”
Connie Fournier, however, said that if the case stands on appeal it will impair the once vibrant Canadian blogosphere.
“I think this is a terrible thing for free speech on the Internet,” she said. “When people who are allowing comments on their blogs and forums look at humongous costs and damage rulings like this, at injunctions that could put them in jail, they’re not going to want to take the risk of opening their site.”
The jury found that the four defendants — Roger Smith, Jason Bertucci, Connie and Mark Fournier — had been “malicious, high-handed and oppressive” in their conduct. Justice Smith also found the defendants had acted unreasonably by refusing to accept Warman’s offer to settle the case for $5,000 each.
Warman had to fight in court to obtain the identifies of those anonymous posters who had left defamatory comments on Free Dominion. The case dragged on for six years, culminating in a three-week trial before a six-person jury.
The Fourniers have never apologized or issued a retraction about the statements found to be defamatory.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
Can you link to them?
You ought to set up on a US server.
They're afraid someone might tell the truth. Liberals are unable to handle that.
Everyone post this on your Facebook and Twitter pages, as well as contacting anyone you know in the media.
Warman is the Censorship Champion.
Warman is so obnoxious that even his fellow fanatics at the “Human Rights” Commission couldn’t stand him.
Warman is a professional complainer.
Warman is a devious character.
Warman has been opposed to the Freedom of Speech offered by the Internet for years.
Warman threatened David Icke and also threatened anyone who tried to publicly expose his activities.
Warman has made false allegations of unlawful speech in the past.
Warman is involved with an urban terrorist group called the “Anti-Racist Action” who he recently sponsored to go and protest in front of another individual’s house.
Warman has spoken to and financed the Anti-Racist Action group and that this group was responsible for “...the firebombing of another individual’s house, including the posting of instructions to do it” and that this same group attacked the eyes of police horses with sharp sticks.
Warman sponsored bus transportation for a protest by this same Anti-Racist Action group outside the home of Paul Fromm at which a protestor held a sign stating “Die Nazi Scum”.
Warman sponsored bus transportation for the group Anti-Racist Action to the protest outside the home of Paul Fromm in retaliation for Paul Fromm acting as agent for respondents in federal “human rights” cases he has filed.
Warman counselled members of the group Anti-Racist Action group to commit an assault against David Icke because he didn’t agree with what Icke was writing.
Warman has threatened the safety of other people on many occasions.
Warman’s action in bringing an application before the CRTC in relation to the threats of Bill White is reflective of a dictatorship.
Warman exposed the home addresses of his opponents, talked to their neighbours, and other such activities that Mr. Warman would be concerned if his opponents did to him.
Melba Blandon, Minister of Information for the Sandinistas: “They siad we were suppressing freedom of the press. This was a lie and we could not let them publish it.”
Warman seems just like Blandon, and the Sandinistas are Communists.
No, we have the ZOT POLICE
.....The online political forum, Free Dominion, has shut down after a wholesale defeat in a libel case brought by Ottawa human rights lawyer Richard Warman....
Ah, yes! Those pesky “human rightsers”!!!!
PHOOEY!!!!
How much have I missed Free Dominion? I have switched to Free Republic to get my dose of the “real” news. I will miss the Canadian content- my grandmother was a Canadian.
I will donate to your court case fund and I will pray for you and your family.
Hey, Bloody Sam Roberts.
Those “high-handed” comments are a joke. Thank God for free speech because it is a rare commodity in Canada.
Read the 100 comments at this link. Book your funeral first because you will die laughing!
https://web.archive.org/web/20140130154522/http://www.freedominion.ca/images/doe_decision.pdf
Does anyone know exactly what “libelous” things were said about the [in my opinion] whining bastard?
Would you go to prison if you freep-mailed me the actual words and I posted them here?
Well if you were to move away from Canada (like...say...to Texas), wouldn't you be able to reopen your website then? FD was one of the very first forums I posted at when I first discovered internet political forums. Sorry to see it go.
Excellent!
I’m sure FR will happily accept Canadian content.
Jim, do you think we could make a Canadian room here? It could give our Canadian friends a place to go without FD.
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