| Time | Description |
|---|
| 2008 - Dec., 2016 | We and many volunteers ran the Manor with no criticism. Any complaints that arose were promptly handled, including banning.
People were mature and responsible for the play around them as well as themselves. Friday parties averaged 40 people and sometimes exceeded 60. |
| Dec. 4, 2016 | RK's Fetlife post with serious allegations all of which were false |
| Dec. 5 | At a MVK party, 3 ladies coordinate with the Chairperson about attending my open house the next day to discuss RK's allegations |
| Dec. 6 | Open house at the Manor with 3 ladies attending deliberately trying to put me in the worst possible light. They knew nothing about the allegations. |
| Dec. 7 - 10 | 3 ladies post their criticisms of me disguised as minutes of the meeting |
| Dec. 7 | We made most of the changes to how Fridays' parties are now run.
- Doorperson - all had to come in the front door
-
Wristbands
-
Fee collected
-
If new, a tour and then a 15-minute orientation with Lord Braven, including a 9-page handout for them to keep
Attendance dropped to an average of 12 |
| Dec. 14 | 1st Town Hall meeting organized by MVK. I attended. No discussion of RK's allegations. Minutes were posted called "Moving Ahead". With the changes we'd made more control of Fridays and no mention of RK's allegations, we thought things would blow over. |
| Jan., 2017 | Vancouver Dungeon Master Team started working with us, suggesting minor improvements and started monitoring parties in April, 2017, giving us their complete endorsement |
| Mar. 17 | MVK sends letter to MAsT filled with false allegations suggesting an investigation. Chairperson gets two of the three ladies and two my ex's to talk to the MAsT investigator. The purpose is "to shut him down". |
| June 25 | "After taking statements from you and the complainants, it is the decision of the Board to revoke the charter of MAsT: Vancouver." There had been no discussion with me about any complaints. |
| July 12 | Open letter Published by MVK with multiple false allegations. Attendance had climbed to an average of 20. After the open letter, attendance fell to an average of 6 |
| Aug 23 | Second Town Hall Meeting by MVK where open letter is read and no discussion allowed. Since it was mostly about me, I sent a representative rather than causing heightened tensions by attending myself. |
| Sep/Oct | My lawyer sent two letters seeking retraction that were rejected |
| May, 2018 | After hoping things would calm down, attendance was still averaging only 6 even though over 350 new people had come to Manor since Dec., 2016. It was evident that newbies were being directed away from the Manor. I therefore field a Notice of Civil Claim for defamation. |
| July 25, 2018 | MVK files their response to the Notice, basing their defense NOT on truth, but on qualified privilege, in effect admitting they had made false statements and/or statements without proof. |
| May, 2019 | A month before the trial is scheduled, MVK makes an application under a new anti-SLAPP law hoping to have my case dismissed. The new law is intended for situations like large resource companies who file spurious lawsuits against protesters in an effort to shut them up, thus the acronym SLAPP (Strategic Litigation Against Public Protest). |
| Nov 1, 2019 | SLAPP oral hearing with lawyers from both sides and written submissions |
| Dec 19, 2019 | The judge's SLAPP decision soundly rejects MVK's defense and allows the defamation suit to continue |
| Jan., 2020 | MVK announces a plan to appeal the SLAPP decision to continue delaying the proceedings and increasing costs despite having very little grounds for an appeal. |
| Mar, 2020 | COVID-19 halted all deadlines, including for the appeal, until after the state of emergency. Everything was on hold. |
| Sep., 2020 |
In July, both parties entered into formal mediation and things were progressing well until MVK provided financial statements that greatly undervalued their cash position. When this was pointed out to them, they immediately terminated the entire mediation process even though they were paying the full cost. |
| May, 2021 |
In January 2021, negotiations resumed and were progressing, but then MVK announced that it would not be resuming events after Covid, claiming that negotiations had broken down and that somehow the litigation made continuing untenable. We continue to reach out through our lawyers for more negotiations. There remains concern about under-reporting of donations to their legal fund, specifically the August 2019 auction ($9+k) and Westcoast Bound 2020 ($10+k).
|
| June, 2022 |
It's hard to believe that things are still not settled. The defendants said they are going to defend themselves going forward, except perhaps in the issue of costs that we may be entitled to for the unsuccessful SLAPP action. They are not responding to our requests for hearings so they might be hoping that we drop the suit. Last year they said they were forced to disband MVK due to the litigation, but some defendents are now reorganizing and even announced a Westcoast Bound 2023 weekend conference, which they previously told us costs $10+k in upfront costs.
|
| October, 2023 |
Retraction of the open letter and apology to Lord Braven
We write this open letter to the Vancouver kink community to retract and apologize for our role in the open letter issued by the Metro Vancouver Kink Board of Directors (the "Board") July 12, 2017.
The Board published that letter in response to unsubstantiated claims arising out of an online post in December 2076 and subsequent turmoil within our community. We take allegations of wrongdoing in our community seriously. However, we also acknowledge that an accused's right to know the accusations against him and respond accordingly are just as important. Lord Braven was not given that opportunity prior to the publication of the open letter.
For clarity, there has been no wrongdoing proven against Lord Braven. We acknowledge that the so-called admissions in our open letter were also construed too broadly and that Lord Braven did not make those admissions. indeed, as noted in our open letter, Lord Braven has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Without complete evidence before us, it was wrong for the MVK Board to comment on the safety of Braven Manor and to publicly ostracize Lord Braven. We expressly retract those comments. Moving forward, we will endeavour to be more cautious before making accusations against a member of our community.
We are aware that our open letter harmed Lord Braven's reputation and we sincerely apologize for that harm. We hope that this retraction and apology somewhat mitigate the harm caused. We look forward to working with both Lord Braven and the community generally to ensure that our community remains safe for everyone.
Andi_sunrider
LotusV
(from 2 of 10 defendants)
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