A Whitehorse jury has awarded a former Dawson City couple more than $800,000 in damages after deeming that a GoFundMe campaign, social media posts and a publication sent by mail were libelous and defamatory.

Wednesday’s decision – extremely rare, if not unprecedented for the Yukon – brought an end to a civil trial that began Jan. 28 in Whitehorse.

It’s not immediately clear how realistic it would be to see the full damages paid out.

The jury presented the verdict to Yukon Supreme Court Chief Justice Ron Veale on Wednesday. The trial had been scheduled for two weeks but ran an extra three days.

Michael and Angela Senft were suing Audrey Vigneau and Susan Hermann for libel over a GoFundMe post, a publication that was sent to Dawson mailboxes and other social media posts.

These posts contained information regarding the Senfts’ relationship with 80-year-old Daniele McRae.

The Senfts have known McRae going back to the late 1980s, and knew her husband, Allen, who died in 2007.

The Senfts helped McRae cope with the loss. The relationship between the two parties grew from a social acquaintance to a friendship.

In the spring of 2010, the Senfts were added as joint tenants on McRae’s property on the Dome Road. This arrangement took a turn for the worst in 2017. It resulted in a lawsuit between the two parties, that was settled out of court.

The Senfts were removed as joint tenants and moved to Whitehorse as a result of the alleged defamation.

The respondents allege that the GoFundMe campaign was posted to help raise funds for McRae regarding this lawsuit.

The jury awarded general, special, aggravated and punitive damages.

Vigneau will have to pay Angela $100,000 in general damages, $109,707.42 in special damages, $40,000 in aggravated damages and $2,500 in punitive damages.

She will have to pay Michael $100,000 in general damages, $2,660.37 in special damages, $20,000 in aggravated damages and $2,500 in punitive damages.

Hermann will have to provide Angela with $100,000 in general damages, $109,707.42 in special damages, $50,000 in aggravated damages and $10,000 in punitive damages.

She will have to compensate Michael $100,000 in general damages, $2,660.37 in special damages, $50,000 in aggravated damages and $10,000 in punitive damages.

The total award is $809,735.16.

The lawyers for each party made their final arguments on Tuesday.

Garry Whittle, the Senfts’ lawyer, told the jury that reputations are cherished – hard to build and easy to lose.

He said his clients have suffered defamation, as the posts contain false information. Such information includes allegations that the Senfts abused McRae and tried to force her off her property.

He pointed out that neither Vigneau nor Hermann contacted the Senfts for their side. He argued that the posts contained the information McRae told them.

He added neither woman took any steps to publicly stop the social media attacks against the Senfts.

He explained that both Vigneau and Hermann made a decision to only publish McRae’s side of the story. The respondents claim that these posts were made to help raise money for McRae to help her with the litigation with the Senfts. They also say it was fair comment.

Whittle argued that the respondents’ publications went far beyond helping McRae. He said any reasonable person who read their publications could end up with a negative opinion of the Senfts.

He added these publications were done with malice, since there had been no attempt to contact the Senfts. He explained this should defeat the fair comment defence.

He asked the jury to award general, aggravating, special and punitive damages to his clients. The damages include $214,093.91 in lost wages and $10,541.49 for the Senfts’ move from Dawson to Whitehorse.

The lost wages cover two years of Angela’s salary (she had been a social worker with the Yukon government). She claims she retired as a result of this ordeal.

“Send a message that libel will not be tolerated,” Whittle said.

He told the jury that this case is not about the McRae property nor what the Senfts did to help McRae after he husband died.

“This case is not the McRae case,” Whittle said. “That case has been settled.”

Vigneau’s lawyer, John Cliffe, asked the jury to dismiss the case. He argued the Senfts were not defamed. He felt neither Michael nor Angela were credible witnesses.

“They shouldn’t be believed,” Cliffe said.

He argued that Vigneau was trying to help out her friend and thought what McRae told her was true.

He explained that the comments in the GoFundMe could be seen as defamatory, but it would be saved by the fair comment argument.

He explained the wording in the GoFundMe campaign made it clear it was an opinion based on facts.

He felt there was no reason to award general, special, aggravating or punitive damages. He argued that Angela did not have to give up her job.

He pointed out she could have just let go of her interest in McRae’s property but refused.

The government told her she was in a conflict of interest in being a social worker and having a stake in McRae’s property.

He felt the claim for lost wages had nothing to do with the defamation, as it is related to a refusal to relinquish an interest in the property.

“She made the decision to leave her employment,” Cliffe said.

He said these damages were all self-inflicted. He added there was no evidence that the Senfts were publicly harassed nor confronted in public.

As for malice, he said there is none. He explained all his client tried to do was raise money for her friend, and the Senfts were not even mentioned in the posts.

He added Vigneau did apologize to the Senfts at a discovery hearing in May 2018.

Hermann’s lawyer, John McIntyre, adopted Cliffe’s submissions, expanding on some points.

He argued that the Senfts exaggerated their friendship with McRae. He pointed out that Angela did not know when McRae retired or what her previous employment had been. He felt it was odd that a friend would now know that.

McIntyre told the jury that his client is honest, and had not gone “half-baked” into publishing information.

She had sought out McRae to find out what happened. He added that McRae did say positive things about the Senfts.

“It wasn’t all bad,” McIntyre said.

He too said the purpose of the GoFundMe campaign was to help raise money so McRae could defend herself in court. He felt nothing was defamatory, and that the Senfts had to dig deep to find anything.

He argued that this lawsuit was an attempt from the Senfts to take away this fundraising effort to McRae.

The Senfts are seeking legal costs, a matter that Whittle said will be dealt with at another time.