MAIANI v C-JAZZ

The Plaintiff, a former executive director of the Calgary Jazz Festival, brought a defamation claim against the Defendants, who publicly blamed him for the cancellation of the 2010 Festival due to alleged financial mismanagement. Applying the test for defamation, Feasby J. found that the statements were defamatory and untrue.

The Defendants failed to attend Trial or engage with the proceedings and did not respond to a Notice to Admit Facts. The Court relied on Rule 6.37(3) to deem the facts stated in the Notice to Admit Facts admitted. These admissions included key facts that the Plaintiff regularly reported expenses to the board and that the Defendants made the impugned statements to media outlets knowing that they would be published.

On the issue of costs, Justice Feasby applied Rule 10.33, which requires the Court to consider litigation conduct, together with the foundational principles in Rules 1.2(1) and 1.2(2) requiring parties to facilitate the timely and cost-effective resolution of disputes and to communicate honestly and openly. Feasby J. found that the Defendants acted in bad faith throughout the proceedings, including refusing to facilitate service, failing to participate in the process, and ultimately not attending Trial after opposing pre-Trial steps. The Action took nearly 14 years to reach Trial, and the delay was mostly attributable to the Defendants’ failure to act in good faith. In these circumstances, the Court held that solicitor-client costs were warranted but awarded a lump sum of $50,000 to avoid further delay and expense associated with a formal assessment of costs.