Vander Zalm found liable in defamation case
Written by on February 10th, 2012 in Latest News.
Former B.C. premier Bill Vander Zalm, in a 2010 photograph, has been ordered to pay $60,000 to former conflict of interest commissioner Ted Hughes. (CBC)
Former B.C. premier Bill Vander Zalm has been found liable of defaming the province’s one-time conflict of interest commissioner Ted Hughes and ordered to pay $60,000.
A B.C. Supreme Court civil trial jury delivered the verdict Thursday afternoon in Vancouver.
Hughes had sued Vander Zalm for statements he made in a self-published autobiography.
Hughes headed an inquiry in 1991 that found then-premier Vander Zalm had violated the province’s conflict-of-interest regulations during the sale of a theme park he owned.
The finding prompted Vander Zalm’s resignation as premier.
Hughes said he was shocked when he read Vander Zalm’s 2008 autobiography. (CBC)
In his 2008 autobiography, Vander Zalm suggested that Hughes was self-interested and politically biased in his conduct of the inquiry.
Hughes, 84, said he was shocked and depressed at reading the passages that referred to him.
Vander Zalm’s lawyer told the court that the way his client described key players like Hughes were honest comment.
