Motion to dismiss Kamloops' mayor's defamation suit against councillor adjourned until September
Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson's defamation suit against Katie Neustaeter has been in the courts for 2 years
A B.C. Supreme Court judge has adjourned a hearing on a defamation suit filed by Kamloops, B.C., Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson, against one of the city's councillors until September.
Coun. Katie Neustaeter has been seeking to dismiss the defamation lawsuit filed against her by the mayor in June 2023 after she made a public statement on behalf of council accusing him of crossing personal and professional boundaries.
Hamer-Jackson claims that led some people to wrongly believe he may have sexually harassed her. His claims haven't been proven in court.
On Monday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Jacqueline Hughes granted a last-minute request from Hamer-Jackson to adjourn a hearing on Neustaeter's dismissal application until Sept. 22.
It came seven months after the mayor, who was representing himself in the case, was advised to hire a lawyer. The lawyer that he hired was only retained late last week and sought the adjournment in court.
Hughes granted Hamer-Jackson's lawyer's request, but ordered the mayor to cover the costs linked to the hearing, which was set to last five days.
"I'm really grateful that, this time, the mayor will face some of the consequences of his own actions and, certainly, this is when it will be expensive for him," Neustaeter said outside court after the adjournment.
"I want justice to happen. I want it to be fair and I want it to be right," the councillor added. "And if that means waiting a little bit longer, then that's what we'll do."
Hamer-Jackson and his lawyer refused to comment outside court when approached by CBC News.
Neustaeter has been sparring with Hamer-Jackson — in public and in court — since the spring of 2023.
The councillor wants the defamation lawsuit tossed out under provincial legislation, which rids the courts of actions considered a drain on time and money.
If lawyers for Neustaeter convince the judge that the mayor's case against her is frivolous, it could be dismissed, and he could be forced to cover her legal costs.
That impacts taxpayers in Kamloops because they're currently covering Neustaeter's legal fees.
"I'm just pleased that [Hamer-Jackson] now has counsel who has agreed to represent him, and that we have a date that we can work towards to finally give Coun. Neustaeter her day in court," the councillor's lawyer, Daniel Reid, said Tuesday.
The mayor's legal costs must be paid by him.
He says it's partially why he's trying to sell his home, his boat and the commercial property he owns on Victoria Street West.
Acrimonious relationship
For the last year, the rest of council has been asking the mayor to resign.
He responded by holding a news conference last summer, declaring he plans to seek re-election.
The province has been asked to help resolve the discord at city hall, but Municipal Affairs Minister Ravi Kahlon says there's no way to force the mayor to leave.
Kahlon recently confirmed he's trying to update the Municipal Affairs Act, to avoid the type of thing that's happening in Kamloops, which has also been seen in some other B.C.communities.
Kahlon also told CBC Kamloops that taxpayers should be concerned that more than a million dollars has been spent on legal issues involving the mayor.
"If I were a citizen of Kamloops, I would be pissed, quite frankly, because we elect our officials to treat each other with respect … those are dollars that could have gone to infrastructure. Those are dollars that could have gone to important community services," said Kahlon.
The minister added that the legislation won't be ready before the next civic election in the fall of 2026.
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With files from Akshay Kulkarni