More than two weeks of court time set aside for TRU vice president’s defamation case – Kamloops News

More than two weeks of court have been set aside for the trial of a Thompson Rivers University vice president who sued his accusers after he was cleared of wrongdoing in a high-profile case alleging serious workplace misconduct.

In the lawsuit, Matt Milovick, TRU’s vice president of finance and administration, accuses eight named individuals, as well as anonymous whistleblowers and complainants, of malicious defamation.

The names of Milovick and former TRU Human Resources Chief Larry Phillips were revealed by whistleblowers first in an anonymous letter shared with the TRU community and later publicly when news of the allegations broke in late 2021.

The letter and subsequent articles detailed a number of serious accusations.

Earlier this year, TRU released a mostly uncensored version of the investigation report that acquitted Milovick of 22 charges brought against him. Ten of the 33 charges brought against Phillips were substantiated.

Phillips was fired by TRU president Brett Fairbairn in late 2021, although Fairbairn said it had nothing to do with the investigation.

In a notice of motion filed more than a year ago in British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver, Milovick said he saw no problem with the complaint or the investigation into the allegations, but he said he was unhappy that prosecutors and defense attorneys had made the allegations public.

“The defamatory language complained of in this notice of civil claim is intended to expose the plaintiff to hatred, ridicule and/or contempt and/or to lower his esteem in the eyes of right-thinking people generally and/or to cause him to be shunned or ignored, which was the case,” the document reads.

Milovick claims that as a result of the defendants’ actions, his reputation was significantly damaged, his “pride and self-confidence were damaged,” he experienced emotional distress, his professional relationships were damaged and he experienced personal anxiety.

Although no damages amount was specified, he is seeking general, aggravated, exemplary, punitive and special damages, as well as an injunction prohibiting the defendants from “further publishing the defamatory statement.”

None of the allegations contained in the lawsuit have been proven in court.

The trial is scheduled to begin on September 29, 2025, and will take 13 days to complete.

Phillips also sued Fairbairn and TRU for his dismissal in an unrelated lawsuit.