A proposed class-action lawsuit launched by two women who were allegedly filmed in a Vancouver Island grocery store washroom can go ahead, a B.C. judge has ruled.
Mallory Colter and Jennifer Burke, former cashiers at Mattick's Red Barn Market in Saanich, went public last year with allegations that co-worker Matthew Schwabe recorded them using the washroom and posted explicit images to a Russian "revenge porn" website.
Schwabe allegedly planted a video recording device in the washroom for a lengthy period of time, the suit alleged.
Both Schwabe and Red Barn Market were named in the proposed class-action lawsuit.
The women said they only learned about the footage when police contacted them in 2016 to show them the explicit images that were posted.
"I was shocked and very violated. You don't know how to react, it's very traumatizing," Burke said in January 2018.
But in April 2018, the plaintiffs' claim was stayed after Schwabe declared bankruptcy, claiming total debts of $4,484.64.
That changed Tuesday when a judge lifted the stay of proceedings. Colter and Burke argued that Schwabe's debt was relatively modest and that he was using bankruptcy to avoid their proposed lawsuit.
Much of the decision to lift the stay came from the judge's inference that the person who posted the images and other members of the proposed class-action suit "intended to cause them psychological harm."
In his decision, Justice Brian MacKenzie said that bankruptcy was not an acceptable defence for allegations that Schwabe intentionally inflicted bodily harm, which would also include psychological harm.
The women are seeking class-action certification, damages against both Schwabe and Red Barn, and an injunction against Schwabe prohibiting him from possessing, viewing or distributing images of the members of the proposed class-action suit.
In a deposition, Burke claimed that police showed her facial images "of six other young women whose privacy had also been breached through non-consensual recording."
The statement of claim also alleges that Schwabe "displayed a pattern of problematic behaviour towards women" like making sexist remarks about women's bodies in the workplace. Another employee has claimed that Schwabe exposed his penis to her on shift.
The judge granted the women's request for investigators to hand over documents, recordings and images related to the investigation.
Saanich police only say their investigation is ongoing.
No criminal charges have been laid in connection with the allegations, and none of the allegations in the civil claim have been proven in court.
