A group of people – described as the Free Speech Club Ltd. – were kicked out of a Vancouver pub they booked last year for alleged anti-Semitic and homophobic remarks and gestures.
That’s according to the principal of Devil’s Elbow Ale and Smokehouse, Paul Jacobs.
His claims were ruled as hearsay by the B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal chair Shannon Salter.
Salter pointed out Oct. 8, in response to a claim filed by the club asking for a refund of its $315 deposit, that Jacobs was not present the night of Sept. 6, 2019.
“Instead, he heard about it when a staff member called him to report the allegations,” said Salter. “Jacobs says he instructed the pub manager to have the club members leave.”
After the Free Speech club’s day in court, the B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) has ruled in their favour – even though the pub argued that Free Speech group members made Nazi salutes and anti-Jewish and homophobic statements.
It upset Devil’s Elbow staff and other guests, according to the establishment, who claimed the booking was also not made on behalf of the club but by its director Angelo Isidorou.
For that reason, it said, the business should not have to refund the club itself.
The pub also claimed to have lost revenue and staff tips totaling $750 when forced "to shut down the event," the ruling noted.
“While the CRT’s evidentiary rules are flexible, I do not accept Mr. Jacobs’ hearsay evidence, which is vague and comes from an unnamed source,” Salter wrote in her decision.
"There is also no evidence before me from any of the staff members or guests who were said to have been upset by the club members’ conduct."
Isidorou denied claims that Free Speech club members made anti-Semitic or homophobic remarks or gestures.
Salter ordered Devil’s Elbow to refund the club its deposit, $5.42 in interest, and cover its $125 in CRT fees.
