Wellington County councillor Brad Whitcombe and Chief Administrative Officer Scott Wilson have drastically altered their lawsuit against Guelph blogger Bill Manderson.
In an amended statement of claim filed last week by McCarthy Tétrault lawyers, Whitcombe and Wilson claim $1 each in general, aggravated and punitive damages, in connection with what they say are defamatory statements made by Manderson in letters and on his website, smelly-welly.com.
The county officials first filed a lawsuit against Manderson last January, seeking a total of $2.4-million in damages.
Lawyer Chris Wayland said the decision to alter the damages was made to reflect Manderson’s financial situation and to recognize the intent of the action was not to garner a large reward for Whitcombe and Wilson.
“Our purpose really is to get [Manderson] to stop publishing the worst of the very egregious material,” Wayland said. “My clients still firmly believe their reputations have been harmed.”
Therefore, as part of the amended statement of claim, the plaintiffs are also seeking a permanent injunction that would prohibit Manderson from printing what Wayland calls “false and malicious personal attacks.”
An injunction issued by Judge Cas Herold last February is still in effect, Wayland explained, but only until the trial (no trial date has been set). The new request would make that injunction permanent, although Wayland stressed Manderson would still be free to operate his website, as long as the material is not defamatory.
“He can criticize as much as he likes,” Wayland said, adding that is the right of every citizen. He told the Advertiser Wilson and Whitcombe are also seeking payment for the costs of their action, but added “The driving force behind the lawsuit is the injunction.”
Manderson said on Tuesday he remains steadfast in his opposition to the lawsuit and will not settle out of court.
“I am not for sale,” he said in an interview. “There’s absolutely no change at all [for me].”
Manderson suggested the real motivation behind the amended statement of claim is twofold: Wilson and Whitcombe now realize they cannot win and they want the matter settled before this fall’s municipal election (Whitcombe is mayor of Puslinch Township and Wilson a councillor in Orangeville).
“They’ve been defeated for a long time,” Manderson said of the two county officials. He called their latest move “sheer stupidity” that makes all of county council look like “idiots.”
Manderson added if McCarthy Tétrault officials are really in the spirit of giving, they would volunteer to return the hundreds of thousands of dollars the lawsuit has cost Wellington County taxpayers.
He also denies a claim made in the amended statement that he posted allegedly libelous statements about Wilson and Whitcombe after Herold’s injunction was issued.
“I can prove it,” said Manderson, adding the specific statements cited in the claim were posted long before Herold ever made his decision.
But Wayland maintains several statements violate the current injunction, which states Manderson must refrain from printing:
– any reference to Whitcombe and Wilson as criminals or quasi-criminals;
– comparisons between the county officials and Nazis;
– statements suggesting Whitcombe and Wilson are mentally ill or psychologically impaired; and
– references to the two men as cheats, liars, fraudsters or other similar names.
Meanwhile, a parallel court case, in which Whitcombe and Wilson are seeking a peace bond against Manderson, was expected to continue Feb. 26.
