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Two former Calgary Jazz Association board members made “cowardly” and “defamatory” statements designed to deflect blame from themselves for the cancellation of the 2010 jazz festival when they falsely accused the executive director of financial mismanagement, a Calgary judge ruled this week.
Justice Colin Feasby issued an eight-page written decision, ordering Richard Sherry and John Bell to pay Patrick Maiani $100,000 — half for damages and half to cover his legal costs.
Maiani sued Sherry and Bell after the two men issued a press release and made statements to the media following the 11th-hour cancellation of the 2010 Calgary Jazz Festival.
Feasby found the statements “deflected blame from themselves and the other members of the board of directors and scapegoated Mr. Maiani.”
“The defamatory statements had a devastating impact on his career and caused him significant distress,” wrote Feasby.
Tensions build
Maiani was the executive director of the Calgary Jazz Festival from the early 2000s until its demise in 2010.
The festival was run by the Calgary Jazz Association, also known as C-Jazz.
In June 2010, Sherry was the interim president of C-Jazz and Bell was a board member.
Tensions, both financial and interpersonal, had been building since at least 2009 when Bell was removed from his role as vice-president of C-Jazz because he failed to file the documents needed for the organization to maintain its charitable status.
Sherry takes over after resignation
This led to the association losing out on a casino fundraiser, which would have netted about $60,000 in revenue.
In the spring of 2010, half of the C-Jazz board of directors, including the president, resigned.
Sherry took over as the interim president.
Tensions remained between the board and Maiani, who also resigned at the beginning of June 2010 but agreed to stay on to provide stability for the 2010 festival, set to begin June 25.
Emergency meeting
On June 19, the board held an emergency meeting to discuss whether to cancel the festival.
Maiani wanted it to go on.
He believed cancelling would be more damaging financially and reputationally, and that financial problems would be resolved by ticket revenue and funding that had been promised by sponsors and granting agencies.
Sherry and others on the board disagreed and announced the cancellation of the festival less than one week before artists were set to take to the stage.
Maiani blamed
A press release was issued late on June 19, 2010. It stated that the board had “been asking the C-Jazz Executive Director [Patrick Maiani] for a detailed rundown of expenses and cash flow required for the 2010 festival. It wasn’t until today, two days before the festival, that we finally got a look.”
But Feasby found Maiani had, months earlier, provided the board with the information Sherry claimed he hadn’t received.
Over the next several days, between the press release and interviews with local news outlets, Sherry and Bell accused Maiani’s financial mismanagement as the sole reason for the cancellation of the festival.
“These statements were untrue,” wrote Feasby in his decision. “The Calgary Jazz Association’s financial situation had always been precarious.”
‘Cowardly and … defamatory’
The judge noted the dire financial situation was exacerbated by cost overruns in 2009 and Bell’s failure to complete the financial reporting necessary to maintain the association’s casino fundraiser.
“The decision of Mr. Sherry and Mr. Bell to pin the cancellation of the 2010 Calgary Jazz Festival on Mr. Maiani was cowardly and their statements were defamatory.”
Feasby examined the effect of the defamatory statements on Maiani who, until 2010, had worked for 20 years in numerous areas of Calgary’s arts community.
“He was well-established and well-respected,” wrote Feasby. “The defamatory statements effectively ended his career as an organizer and administrator in the Calgary arts community.”
Defendants’ ‘deplorable’ conduct
The judge also commented on the conduct of the defendants who initially participated in the case but failed to show up to trial.
“The defendants’ litigation conduct was deplorable,” said Feasby.
The judge also noted Sherry and Bell remain unrepentant.
“They have neither retracted their statements nor apologized to Mr. Maiani.”
Feasby also said it was important for his decision to be published, as “Mr. Maiani’s injury occurred in public, it is appropriate that his vindication occur in public.”