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Appeal court orders new trial in libel case involving Andrew Weaver

The B.C. Court of Appeal has ordered a new trial in a seven-year-old defamation case involving B.C. Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver and the National Post. Weaver won a $50,000 judgment in B.C.
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Andrew Weaver won a $50,000 judgment in B.C. Supreme Court in 2015 after accusing the newspaper of defaming him in four articles by three authors published in late 2009 and early 2010.

The B.C. Court of Appeal has ordered a new trial in a seven-year-old defamation case involving B.C. Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver and the National Post.

Weaver won a $50,000 judgment in B.C. Supreme Court in 2015 after accusing the newspaper of defaming him in four articles by three authors published in late 2009 and early 2010. Weaver was a climate scientist at the University of Victoria at the time the articles appeared.

The National Post and its writers appealed the judgment and the high court concluded that the original trial judge erred by analyzing the articles in combination, rather than independently, and by finding the authors jointly liable for defamation.

Weaver, who is seeking re-election in Oak Bay-Gordon Head on May 9, learned of the appeal court decision Friday morning and said he plans to pursue the case.

“We’ll go back and we’ll continue this forward,” he said. “But, right now, I’m leaving it up to my lawyer. I’ve got other things to worry about, and that, of course, is the provincial election.”