A Sooke man can proceed with his $50-million lawsuit against Facebook, which claims the social media giant failed to remove an imposter account, despite attempts to have it thrown out.
Timothy Durkin filed his civil suit in August 2020, after an account impersonating him and alleging his involvement in a U.S. Ponzi scheme popped up on Facebook.
Durkin says he discovered the profile in March 2020 and immediately tried to report it as identity theft to Facebook, but received a pop-up window notifying him the request couldn’t be processed.
Durkin says he and friends tried to report it numerous additional times over several months and received the same error message, before he couriered a letter directly to the managing director of Facebook Canada in July 2020.
When he didn’t hear back, Durkin filed his civil suit, claiming $50 million in damages, the removal of the account and the disclosure of the people running it.
READ ALSO: Former owner of Sooke Harbour House suing Facebook for $50M over ‘imposter profile’
Facebook, now known as Meta, has since tried to convince the BC Supreme Court to throw out the claim. In a May 2021 application, Meta argued Durkin’s claim and its enormous price tag are a publicity stunt and an abuse of the process of the court, calling it “scandalous, frivolous or vexatious.”
Justice John Steeves disagreed in his decision, released this month on Aug. 3, saying he believes Durkin’s claim was intended to have the imposter account removed, not just to stir up media coverage.
The imposter account was removed following Durkin’s initial claim and the accompanying news coverage. Whether it was done so by Meta or the account owners remains unknown, although Meta claims the latter.
In its application to have the lawsuit dismissed, Meta also said Durkin’s claim fails to comply with rules of the court.
In his decision, Steeves agreed, noting that the current claim doesn’t cover the four elements of negligence and lacks evidence on how Durkin’s privacy was breached and what, if any, damage was caused as a result.
Still, Steeves said the court must allow some leniency for self-represented individuals who don’t know the ins and outs of the law. He concluded Durkin should be given the opportunity to amend his claim.
“The claim has its difficulties, for sure, but I am unable at this stage to conclude that it is bound to fail,” Steeves wrote.
The actual allegations made on the now-removed imposter account are being dealt with in a separate court case brought forward by the B.C. Securities Commission. It accuses Durkin of selling a $1-million fake ownership interest in the Sooke Harbour House hotel.
READ ALSO: Vancouver Islander accused of selling fake ownership in world-renowned Sooke Harbour House
READ ALSO: Couple that owned Sooke Harbour House awarded $4 million after lengthy court case
@janeskrypnek
jane.skrypnek@blackpress.ca
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