A B.C. Supreme Court judge has struck down conservative activist Kari Simpson’s lawsuit against a number of judges, calling it “an abuse of process,” and denying her an $11-million payout.
Simpson’s legal battle started 15 years ago, when she launched a defamation suit against the late radio talk show host Rafe Mair in 2003.
In 2008, the Supreme Court of Canada squashed that appeal and a decade later, Simpson launched her civil suit against all of the judges who had heard her case, as well as the Attorney General of Canada and the Minister of Justice.
Her initial claim against the late CKNW radio host stemmed from what Simpson called a “campaign to destroy and vilify” her reputation as a “respected Christian social activist in 1997.”
Simpson, a Langley-resident who runs the conservative organization Culture Guard, has become well known for railing against SOGI123 and mocking gay and transgender people.
The SOGI123 is a Ministry of Education initiative that includes best practices and curriculum resources for elementary and secondary classrooms.
A provincial court judge dismissed Simpson’s original suit against Mair back in 2004 but by 2006, the B.C. Supreme Court allowed her to appeal that ruling.
In the most recent case, Simpson alleged that Madam Justice Koenigsberg, who heard Simpson’s initial 2003-2004 defamation suit, “was unfit to sit as the trial judge” and “issued reasons that contained false and defamatory statements” against Simpson.
The allegations against the other judges alleged various “acts of misfeasance and negligence.”
Simpson further alleged, in the 26-page civil suit, that costs were incorrectly awarded against her in order to “silence” Simpson because of her “political and philosophical views.”
In giving his judgement, Justice E. David Crossin said that Simpson’s suit was nothing more than “an abuse of process” and directed Simpson to pay all costs.
Crossing said that the court should not again hear issues decided in Simpson’s original defamation suit and that her current civil suit was “attack the integrity of the decision makers in relation to” her original claim.
