The interpersonal dynamics of strata ownership have the potential to bring the worst out in people. Strata ownership requires making major decisions as a group – often including people with disparate financial means, values, and priorities. These decisions often involve large financial expenditures or actions that affect everyone’s daily lives. Ownership and rental occupancy require accepting the authority of fellow neighbours who, as volunteers on the strata council, are enforcing strata bylaws, or not, or who are making management decisions at odds with other owners. Day-to-day management issues can push some strata council members beyond their comfort zones. Anyone with strata ownership experience knows how easily meeting discussions can get hot and heavy, and how easily and how often owners will vent their frustration in a reply-to-all email, Facebook post, or hallway conversation.
Often these opinions and complaints revolve around alleged mismanagement, allegedly wrong or defamatory information circulated in minutes, imposition of fines or penalties, or disagreements about whether proper due process was followed. Situations can easily escalate, sending parties to these disputes looking for authoritative resolution or support for their position.
In the 2000s, the B.C. government Housing Branch received frequent complaints and requests for resolution of strata disputes. Branch staff members and interested stakeholders (including IBABC) spearheaded the development of the Civil Resolution Tribunal; when it launched in 2013, its initial focus was on strata disputes.
However, the Civil Resolution Tribunal Act, s. 119, states that the CRT does not have jurisdiction to resolve claims for libel or slander under its small claims jurisdiction. That hasn’t stopped aggrieved parties from filing claims that include allegations of defamation. In their decisions, the adjudicators separate the issues and make rulings on the aspects of the claim other than those involving defamation.
A strata corporation would have to look to its CGL coverage for claims of defamation.
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