Surrey developer wins right to expunge Twitter corruption claims

Surrey developer Bob Cheema claims Surrey businessman Brian Young defamed him on social media A politically active Surrey developer who has been subject to allegations of corruption on social media can have his day in court, a BC Supreme Court judge ruled last Wednesday. Developer Bob Cheema’s defamation lawsuit against Surrey resident Brian Young can proceed, ruled Justice Heather MacNaughton, after Young applied for its dismissal by claiming Cheema was limiting his freedom of expression. The case centres around two political allies of Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum during the October 2018 election. Young and Cheema were both helping McCallum get elected but things went sour thereafter and Young began criticizing McCallum on Twitter, including allegations that Cheema held power over the mayor, particularly with respect to the city’s police force transition. MacNaughton had to weigh the public’s interest as to whether Young’s freedom of expression outweighed Cheema’s right to protect his reputation. MacNaughton’s ruling states there are reasonable grounds for Cheema to proceed with a trial.  “I am satisfied that Mr. Cheema has established, on a balance of probabilities, that the harm he has suffered or is likely to suffer as a result of Mr. Young’s expression is sufficiently serious…
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