Two Summerland brothers, Darren and Bradley Besler, have been granted another opportunity to argue their case of alleged malicious prosecution against Crown prosecutors in British Columbia. This development follows a dispute with their neighboring mushroom farm, What the Fungus, which began seven years ago.
The BC Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the Besler brothers, overturning a previous dismissal of their civil claim. The initial criminal mischief charges against them, related to the dispute, were overturned in 2022. The appeal court found that the BC Supreme Court judge made errors by relying excessively on the overturned convictions and misinterpreting evidence that the Beslers presented.
In 2019, the Fungus farm received approval to operate next to the Beslers' property. The brothers contested the farm's operations, citing zoning issues and odors. Their actions, including signage and social media posts, led to police involvement and subsequent mischief and harassment charges. These charges were initially upheld in a 2021 trial but were later overturned.
The Beslers provided evidence to prosecutors in 2020, including videos allegedly showing their neighbor, Thor Clausen, making threats. They argued that this evidence was ignored by Crown lawyer Ann Lerchs and could have undermined the criminal charges against them. The appeal court decision highlighted that the evidence was meant to absolve the Beslers, not to accuse Clausen.
Prosecutors' defense argued that the evidence was insufficient to drop charges and that the malicious prosecution claim lacks merit. The appeals court determined that these arguments must be revisited in another setting if a settlement with the Beslers is not reached.
Source: INFO News