Conservative website shuttered after libel ruling [Free Dominion]

Ottawa Citizen ^ | January 28, 2014 | Andrew Duffy

[conniew]

Conservative website shuttered after libel ruling

Ottawa lawyer Richard Warman wins long-running legal battle

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

[conniew]

"Are there any alternative options or workarounds available to get you up and running again? Like bringing your forum back up on an offshore located server(s)? Somewhere that the Canadian Gvt has no jurisdiction? Or because the forum owners (you) are Canadian nationals would the legal system there still be able to restrict or otherwise prevent you from having such a site?"

The server is already located in Panama, but it doesn't help us because the injunction is against us, personally. All we can do is appeal.

[beef]

I am sorry that free speech is dead in Canada. We need to redouble our efforts to keep it alive in the US.

[Edward Kennedy]

Up here in Loonielefturdia, the facists install laws when they are elected and use these facist regulations to impose their intolerant anti freedom bigotted agenda. They fool the foolish useful idiots in the mindless grazing herd into voting for them. This has always been the way the enemies of justice and freedom have gained control historically. The same pos are trying it in the USA...know this and be cautious. The USA is the greatest nation in the world and if it falls, every other will fall.

[beef]

“The server is already located in Panama, but it doesn't help us because the injunction is against us, personally. All we can do is appeal.”

The risk is obviously too great for you personally to resurrect Free Dominion, but maybe someday an American or other non-Canadian subject will take up the mantel.

People always say how nice the Canadians are, and I have always found that to be true. But news like this makes me wonder how much of is born of fear. That makes it not so nice.

[conniew]

I am sorry that free speech is dead in Canada. We need to redouble our efforts to keep it alive in the US.

It is, indeed, dead.

Other than that one Ottawa Citizen article, our media won't even go near this story! If anyone here has connections in the US conservative media and you wouldn't mind passing this story along, we'd really appreciate it.

Since we no longer have a website and everyone else is terrified, it makes it very difficult for us to get our side of the story out there.

[beef]

"you wouldn't mind passing this story along"

Submitted to Drudge.

[Chickensoup]

So much for thinking CA is just like the USA

_________________

We’re next

[Lion Den Dan]

It is already here. I think it is starting with the bakers and D’Souza (sp).

[conniew]

Thank you!!

[I want the USA back]

Liberals shutting down free speech.

[midnightcat]

that’s beyond crazy! and it seems the Ontario defamation law is nuts too. You might as well put the entire province in jail since someone might say something nasty about someone else.... I used to visit your site on occasion just to see what was going on in the Canadian world.

[alcatrash]

i take it Canadians don’t enjoy the legal protection of Freedom Of Speech up in their identity-challenged almost country. damn shame, eh?

[conniew]

We have no less than FIVE lawsuits against us right now. Four of them are defamation suits and one is a copyright one.

They were determined to bring down our site, and they did.

But, even though the site is down, we are going to see the lawsuits through. Hopefully we will win, but even if we don’t, maybe we can bring some attention to the sorry state of affairs in our country.

[OneVike]

Wow, I was a member of the Free Dominion. When ever FR shut down I would go there to surf and discuss things.

[conniew]

It seems Mark Steyn is having a similar problem down there. I was really disappointed to see that.

[Ray76]

He he - post comments on government sites and get those sites shut down. Turnabout is fair play. Shut their apparatus down.

[Responsibility2nd]

Free Dominion has been shut down in Canada. I’m trying to see this as something other than a clear suppression of free speech. But that’s what it is.

I hate that my mind wanders and begins to wonder when free speech in America will also be a crime. Yet, if that happens, will they also shut down Free Republic and/or send Jim Robinson and his family to jail?

Sending an extra $30 today to Free Republic in memorium of of Free Dominion.

[B4Ranch]

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As of today, January 23, 2014, and after 13 years online, Free Dominion is closing its doors to the public. We have been successfully censored.

Please click here to donate to our appeal fund!

Today, Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Smith issued an order in the Richard Warman vs Mark and Connie Fournier and John Does defamation case heard September, 2013. In addition to ordering that we must pay Warman $127,000, Justice Smith issued an injunction against us ordering we that never publish, or allow to be published, anything negative about Richard Warman. This means we are barred for life from ever operating a public forum or a blog (even about cookie recipes) where the public can comment. If we do so, any one of Warman’s handful of supporters could, and probably would, use a common proxy server to avoid being traced, plant a negative comment about Warman on our site, and we would both be charged with contempt of court. If that happened --unlike in the Ottawa courtroom where we were blocked at every turn from presenting a defense-- we actually would have no defense. We would both go to jail. This life sentence was imposed for our terrible crimes of voicing our honestly held beliefs and allowing others to do the same. Defamation law, in its current state, is entirely inadequate and counterproductive when applied to the internet. Now it is being used as a tool of censorship. Effectively!

We are assessing our options.

In faith,
Mark and Connie Fournier

"If it takes force to impose your ideas on your fellow man, there is something wrong with your ideas. If you are willing to use force to impose your ideas on your fellow man, there is something wrong with you." - Mark Fournier

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[conniew]

Awesome idea!

If this trend continues, FR will be a prime target for the people who want to silence the internet.

[onyx]

God bless and keep you all.

I knew your site from backhoe.