B.C. High Court says comic must pay

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on June 24th, 2013

The lede of the story in Canada’s National Post nutshells it pretty well:

In a ruling that could carry implications for comedy clubs across Canada, the Supreme Court of British Columbia has upheld the right of a bar patron to receive five-figures in damages from a comedian whose performance she alleges gave her post-traumatic stress disorder.

Those “five figures” are a “1,” followed by a “5,” followed by three zeroes. Fifteen large. And the venue was fined $7,000 and the venue’s owner spent $13,000 defending himself. Survey the wreckage, imagine the implications for the future and ask yourself if it’s all for the good.

We first posted on the Guy Earle case back on June 26, 2008. The incident in question took place on May 22, 2007.

Then, we posted this.

And this.