VANCOUVER – A freelance journalist who alleges the former C-E-O of the Vancouver Olympics publicly portrayed her as unethical is set to have her day in court.
Laura Robinson accuses John Furlong of defaming her in public comments after she wrote an article in 2012 that included allegations from former students that he physically abused them some 40 years ago.
A B-C court will begin hearing evidence in her lawsuit today.
Furlong filed a defamation suit in response to the article in a Vancouver weekly newspaper, denying the abuse allegations and accusing her of a vendetta.
Furlong’s lawsuit alleged Robinson also prompted three people to launch lawsuits against him alleging sexual abuse — claims that weren’t in the original article.
The courts dismissed two of the actions and the third was dropped and Furlong then dropped his lawsuit against Robinson saying that truth had prevailed.
But Robinson has continued with her lawsuit, in which she alleges Furlong implied that she had fabricated the story out of personal animosity.
In court documents, she contended Furlong’s comments exposed her to contempt and ridicule.
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