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Hate criminal's bid to strike defamation lawsuit fails

A defamation lawsuit against a Quesnel man convicted of promoting online hate remains in play.
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A defamation lawsuit against a Quesnel man convicted of promoting online hate remains in play.

Arthur Topham had applied to have dismissed an action brought against him by Daniel Gallant, saying he had failed to provide any material facts supporting his notice of claim and that it had

expired because it had not been served within the one-year time limit.

But on April 8, a B.C. Supreme Court Justice struck Topham's application and gave Gallant until May 31 to file an amended notice of claim. Topham, meanwhile, will have until July 31 to file a response.

In a response to Topham's application, Gallant said that he was unfamiliar with the rules of the court at the time he filed the notice of claim in March 2017. He also said he was unable to serve co-defendant Monika Schaefer with the claim because she was in Germany serving prison time after being convicted of hate crimes there.

In March 2018, Topham was sentenced to a six-month conditional sentence followed by two years of probation after a jury found him guilty of willfully promoting hatred against people of the Jewish religion.

He was also ordered to refrain from posting his writings on any other internet forum where they can be read by the general public.

Gallant, a former neo-Nazi skinhead who became dedicated to countering violent extremism, is suing Topham over comments he allegedly made about him online.

Google had also been named as a defendant in the original notice of claim, but was removed in May 2018 after issues between the sides had been resolved, according to Gallant.