A Canadian artist’s Facebook screed about a gallery owner ended up costing the artist more than the overdue payment he claimed he was owed. A Canadian judge ordered artist
Ryan Livingstone to pay Fredericton-based art dealer
Ingrid Mueller $C 2,950 (about $US 2,210) for posting a comment on Facebook that accused her of being a thief and “a dishonest and unethical gallery owner,” according to a court document quoted by
CTV News.
The artist claimed in his December 2014 post that Mueller had failed to pay him for the sale of a $C 4,000 ($US 3,000) sculpture in December 2013; Livingstone eventually filed a complaint in small-claims court and was awarded $C 759.60 ($US 569). However, Mueller subsequently sued Livingstone for defamation, claiming that the artist’s Facebook rant was intended to hurt her business.
In her ruling last month, quoted by CTV news, Justice Judy Clendening wrote: