wrote in Othello that
the “good name in men
and women is the imme-
diate jewel of their
souls... He who filches
from me my good name
robs me of that which...
makes me poor indeed.”

A person’s good name is a
priceless as ~- “You can spend
years buils =: i: 4 good repu-
tation in wh. community.
When it’s wiped out by onc
stroke of the pen, the effects
can be devastating.

A_ well-known Lower
Mainland lawyer can vouch for
that. Getting judgment for
$110,000 plus extra court costs
was small comfort for the
defamation he suffered. A local

per had falsely reported
that he skipped the country to
avoid paying taxes, when he
was actually in the Bahamas vis-
itng his dying brother-in-law.

Although successful, the

lawyer hadn’t paid his taxes on
a regular basis. Revenue
Canada demanded payment.
He arranged to sell property to
cover his back taxes and hired a
lawyer to negotiate the pay-
ment of interest.

Revenue Canada apg +d to
the court to immediately col-
lect the money from the sale of
the property. The tx depart-
ment told the court it didn’t
know where the lawyer was,
and that his secretary said he’d
left Canada tor the Bahamas.

A freelance reporter saw this
file in the court house, and
after unsuccessfully trying to

get more details, submitted the
story to the newspaper. The
paper ran a catchy headline and
article saying that the lawyer
had bolted, leaving “the tax
man holding the bag.”

The fawyer returned from
the Bahamas the next day. He
tead the article and was devas-
tated by its contents. His law
practice, painstaking}y built up
over 15 years based entirely on
referral and word-of-mouth,
dried up. Friends and col-
leagues, unsure how to react,
said that although they were
shocked, they believed the
story at first. “Che lawyer fost
his “zest for practice.”

Although the lawyer's own
lawyer told the newspaper that
the’ story was false two days
after it ran, the newspaper did-
n’t print an apology und three
months fater.

The judge who heard the
case described the defamation
as “high handed” and said it

offended the “court’s sense of

decency.” The judge conclud-

ed that the newspaper and the
reporter relicd on inferences,
which if thev’d bothered to
check, wouldn’e lead ic a con-
clusion that the lawyer had fled
Canada to avoid taxes. Part of
the $110,000 award was a
“punitive” award to discourage
the paper and other journalists
from “printing irresponsible
inaccuracies” about their fellow
citizens. This case underscores
the value we place on onc’s
good name and the damaging
effects of smearing a person’s
reputation.

There are certain “tests” the
law uses to determine if a per-
son’s badmouthing is defama-
tory and gives vou a right to
suc. A lawyer can help you if
you are concerned about a pos-
sible defamation.

This column is written with
the assistance of the North
Vancouver law firm of Ratcliff
& Company, 988-5201. The col-
umn provides information only
and is net to be relied on for legal
advice.

‘MANY MORE IN-STORE SPECIALS

Prices i in effect July 8-12, 1998 while quantities last

Park R Roy al Shopping

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"922- 8926

we ame att ns: oe ae

Centre.

A fk

MPP gteods ee nae F

‘

THE following peo-
ple recently appeared
in North Vancouver
court in connection
with drinking and
driving related
offences:

William Alfred Neff, 37,
of West Vancouver, was
jailed 30 days and had his
driver's licence suspended
for 12 months after he pleaded guilty to having a biood
alcohol level greater than .08.

The jail sentence was recommended served by electron-
ic Monitoring.

eee

Ralph Thomas Pilkington, 74, of West Vancouver, was
fined $500 and had his driver's licence suspended for 12
months after he pleaded guilty to having a blood alcohol
level greater than .08.

eee

Roger Golinski, 32, of North Vancouver was fined
$1,500 and had his driver's licence suspended for 12
months after he pleaded guilty to two charges of driving
with a blood alcohol level greater than .08: once on Feb.
14 in Secheit; the other on March 24 in North Vancouver
District.

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