Social media racism allegations defamed Ottawa women, judge says

[ad_1]

A judge ordered an Ottawa woman to pay $ 100,000 in damages for engaging in what he called a “brutal and lack of empathy” campaign against two women in a libel case centered on a video released just days after George Floyd was murdered by a Minnesota police officer.

The accused’s lawyer, Cédric Nahum, says he plans to appeal the ruling, which also subjects his client to a permanent injunction that limits her from speaking about the case.

“We found the decision quite disappointing. I think it could go a long way to stifle the conversation about race issues,” Nahum said.

He also says the judge did not sufficiently consider the perspective of his client Solit Isak, who identifies as black, in the context of George Floyd’s death in interpreting the case.

The other side, meanwhile, called the judge’s ruling “justifying their reputation” after a traumatic experience that included the loss of their jobs and threats against them and their families.

Social media racism allegations

The case follows a social media firestorm in June 2020 after a screenshot of Shania Lavallee’s Snapchat account was taken from a May 30 video of her sister Justine trapped by the Shania’s boyfriend, Gilmour Driscoll-Maurice – who held her hands behind her and had her knee on her back.

Isak saw the screenshot just days after Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin, who rested his knee on Floyd’s neck.

Isak, who admitted to never seeing the video, made more than 100 social media posts accusing women of making fun of Floyd’s death, tagging their employers and encouraging others to do the same and to share information about them.

These messages were also reposted and amplified.

This screenshot of the Snapchat video posted on May 30, 2020 by Shania Lavallee was released and led to a social media campaign against her and her sister Justine. (Request for registration of the applicant)

On June 1, Shania posted an apology online, stating in part, “I didn’t want any disrespect at all and didn’t mean to hurt or offend anyone. In the video, they were playing fight like they always do and looking back. , I can see how the video might have been taken out of context given the current situation and now I see how insensitive it is.

“It was a mistake on my part to ignore the awkward moments ahead and I in no way used this as a representation of what happened with George Floyd.”

Shania lost her job at Boston Pizza in Orleans, as well as a job offer as a teacher at the Ottawa Catholic School Board. Justine lost her job at the Canada Border Services Agency and failed a character check in her application to work with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The Lavallees said they also had to leave their home to avoid death threats and vandalism.

On June 5, the sisters’ lawyer asked Isak to cut his posts and issue an apology threatening to sue for libel. Isak had filed a counterclaim at the end of that month.

In the summary of his decision, Judge Marc Smith said Isak “had blindly embarked on a brutal and unempathetic campaign to destroy the lives of two young women” and lacked the factual basis for his allegations of racism.

Shania had told the court that they had posted similar “fighting” videos in the past and that at no point in the video did they mention Floyd or refer to “police brutality”.

Although they were unable to retrieve the video, which Snapchat automatically deletes after 24 hours, the complainants have provided statements from two friends who saw the video to support this claim.

The judge accepted the plaintiff’s story and it was not contested by the defendant.

However, Isak’s lawyer said the details of the video were less important than the context of its publication.

The accused’s observations noted around the same time that other viral images were circulating online of a so-called “George Floyd challenge” where social media users appeared to mimic the kneeling position jokingly.

“I don’t think the judge could have put himself in a young black’s shoes in the days following the murder of George Floyd,” Nahum said.

“He probably wouldn’t be able to do that as a white judge.”

Sisters “sensitive” to acts of racism

Lavallee lawyer Charles Daoust said it had been “a long and traumatic year for them, but they are now happy to be able to defend their reputation.”

“The court’s message is clear that people really need to be careful before making very serious accusations on the Internet, especially to have evidence,” Daoust said.

In a statement, the sisters said as members of the indigenous community that they were sensitive to acts of racism, but the events of 2020 “were in no way related to racism.”

In court, the plaintiffs filed membership cards of the Native Alliance of Quebec (NAQ) to claim that they are Inuit. NAQ cards are not federally recognized identity documents.

The CBC asked which land claim organization they belonged to, this is how official identification as Inuit is recognized, and Daoust said his clients had no further comments.

The limits of freedom of expression

Isak is not required to apologize, but the permanent injunction prevents him from issuing further “defamatory statements” about the Lavallées.

Nahum said her client now owed $ 100,000 in debt early in her adult life, raising concerns about others who may seek to speak out against racism.

“When we look at who was told not to speak here, we are looking at the voice of a young black woman, as opposed to all the other news media or other people who had commented on the situation,” said Nahum. noted.

Hilary Young, a law professor at the University of New Brunswick, argued that she did not believe the ruling would have a chilling effect on those reporting racist behavior.

“I think the law is clear and that while there is a basis for concluding that someone is racist, there are protections against fair comment that will protect your right to express that opinion. But it is not unlimited. . ” she said.

“If you damage someone’s reputation, your good intentions are not good enough to get you through.”

Young said the judge assessed Isak’s intention to speak out against racism in the assessment of damages and did not request that punitive damages be paid in addition to general damages.

Social media has increased the use of permanent injunctions so that defamatory posts can be removed in an effort to repair damaged reputations, she said.

It has also become more common for individuals to be involved in defamation cases, which were played mainly between public figures and journalists or publishers.

“Now in the age of the Internet you see a lot more cases where you just have individuals making claims about other individuals and they haven’t done their research or put in a lot of effort to establish their facts, ”Young said.

Employer Due Diligence

The judge also said third parties not directly involved in the case should have been more diligent in reviewing the evidence and the sisters’ side of the story.

Daoust said his clients were considering their options regarding employers who fired the sisters or canceled job offers.

In a statement, the Canada Border Services Agency said that as a law enforcement agency, its employees should be held to the highest standards of conduct, including in their day-to-day operations. The agency said it did “not intend to reconsider its decision in this matter.”

The RCMP said they could not comment on a person’s security clearance for confidentiality reasons and that if someone reapplied, they would be assessed against Treasury Board standards.

The Ottawa Catholic School Board declined to comment on the judge’s decision. Boston Pizza did not respond to CBC’s request for comment.

[ad_2]