B.C. writer Steven Galloway's defamation case clears court hurdle

The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed an appeal bid by accusers of former University of British Columbia writing professor and novelist Steven Galloway, paving the way for his defamation case against them to go to trial. 

Galloway sued several people in B.C. Supreme Court in 2018, alleging he was defamed with false sexual assault allegations by fellow professors, a former student and others who repeated the statements on social media and elsewhere.

Galloway's lawyer, Dan Burnett, said Thursday that the high court's decision was a "relief" to his client, who wants to "clear his name" after more than five years of legal wrangling trying to get his defamation lawsuit to trial. 

"Steven can finally move his case forward to a trial and have his claim heard," Burnett said. "He's a very determined man who has been badly wronged. He has stuck it out and he will stick it out to the end and have at long last his reputation finally cleared when the matter gets finally to a trial where the truth can properly come out." 

Lawyers for the defendants — Chelsea Rooney, Keith Maillard, Annabel Lyon, Marcelle Kosman, Mandi Gray, Kiera Anderson, Ari Rombough and a former student identified as A.B., whose name is protected by a publication ban — did not immediately provide responses on behalf of their clients. 

Galloway is the author of novels including The Cellist of Sarajevo and The Confabulist.

He was also the chair of the creative writing program at UBC, but was suspended and later fired after the allegations against him emerged.

Thursday's ruling by Canada's high court, which also awarded Galloway costs, effectively upholds a B.C. Court of Appeal finding from January that the alleged defamatory statements were not protected by the province's Protection of Public Participation Act. 

The appeals had hinged on B.C.'s law against "strategic lawsuits," which aim to "silence or deter" commentary on matters of public interest. 

Burnett said getting Galloway's case to trial is now a priority after clearing the high court. 

"Steven's reputation and life were devastated by criminal allegations that most of us, I think, could not even imagine having to suffer through," Burnett said. 

B.C. Supreme Court Judge Elaine Adair had ruled in December 2021 against arguments by former student Chelsea Rooney that accusations of sexual assault must be protected speech, true or not, and "regardless of the circumstances in which the statement was published."

"There would be no legal consequences of any kind attached to publicly calling someone a rapist, completely outside of any formal reporting, and no obligation ever to prove the statement was true," Adair said.

A three-judge panel of the B.C. Court of Appeal then agreed with Adair's "compelling reasons," saying she had been "well aware of the public interest and the importance of encouraging reporting of sexual offences."

"She also recognized that there cannot be an absolute protection surrounding the makers of such statements, regardless of the circumstances or the truth," the panel said. 

The appeal court found Rooney's "barrage of tweets alleging misconduct" against Galloway hindered his "opportunity to rehabilitate his reputation."