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

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

Galloway is suing several people he says defamed him with false allegations of sexual assault, including a former student whose name is protected by a publication ban and others who repeated the statements on social media and elsewhere. 

Thursday’s ruling by Canada’s high court, which also awarded Galloway costs, effectively upholds a B.C. Appeal Court finding in 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. 

Galloway’s lawyer, Dan Burnett, says the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the bid to appeal brings Galloway “relief” and opens the door for a trial to “clear his name” after more than five years of denying the assault allegations.

Burnett says getting Galloway’s case to trial is a priority after clearing the high court, and he says his client’s reputation was “devastated” by the allegations and “the legal process is how you address that.”

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. did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

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