Judge Rules Blaming Calgary Jazz Festival Demise on Director Was Defamation
A Calgary judge has ruled that two former board members of the Calgary Jazz Festival defamed executive director Patrick Maiani by publicly blaming him for the event's 2010 cancellation and subsequent demise. Justice Colin Feasby of the Calgary Court of King's Bench described the actions of the board members as "cowardly" and ordered them to pay significant damages.
Legal Judgment and Financial Penalties
In a written judgment published online, Justice Feasby ordered former festival board members Richard Sherry and John Bell to pay Maiani $50,000 in damages plus an additional $50,000 in legal costs. The judge specified that Sherry, who served as interim president of the Calgary Jazz Association at the time, was more culpable and must pay $40,000 of the damages, while Bell is responsible for $10,000. Both defendants will share equally in the $50,000 legal costs.
The 2010 edition of the Calgary Jazz Festival was canceled at the last minute and has never been revived since that time. Neither Sherry nor Bell appeared at trial to defend their actions, which the judge noted in his decision.
Public Nature of the Defamation
Justice Feasby explained that he published his reasons for judgment specifically because defamation is "a wrong committed in public." He stated that when defendants fail to apologize or make amends, it is appropriate for the judgment of their conduct to be made public. "Because Mr. Maiani's injury occurred in public it is appropriate that his vindication occur in public," Feasby wrote.
The judge noted that Maiani was a prominent member of Calgary's arts community who left the city after the defamatory comments were made against him. Feasby found that Sherry's comments to media at the time of the June 2010 festival cancellation "were both more numerous and pointed with respect to Mr. Maiani" compared to Bell's statements.
Collective Failure, Not Individual Blame
Justice Feasby determined that the statements made by Sherry and Bell blaming Maiani for the festival's demise were untrue. "The gist of the statements by Mr. Sherry and Mr. Bell was that Mr. Maiani's financial mismanagement was the sole or primary reason for the cancellation of the 2010 Calgary Jazz Festival. These statements were untrue," the judge wrote in his decision.
Instead, evidence presented established that the failure was actually the responsibility of the board of directors of the Calgary Jazz Association, which operated the festival. "The cancellation of the Calgary Jazz Festival and the demise of the Calgary Jazz Association was a collective failure," Justice Feasby concluded, rejecting the notion that any single individual should bear sole responsibility for the event's cancellation.
The judge's ruling provides legal vindication for Maiani nearly sixteen years after the festival's cancellation and the damaging public statements made against him. The case highlights the serious consequences of making false public accusations against individuals in leadership positions within cultural organizations.
