A Quebec Court of Appeal has dismissed the town of Kirkland’s case against a resident who set up a blog critical of Kirkland’s handling of the cross-connected sewer pipe problem and costly repairs facing homeowners.

In an interview Thursday, Sergei Brovkin said, he was relieved by the appeal court’s decision not to hear the town’s case against him and he expressed gratitude to his Montreal lawyer, Julius Grey.

“This shows you can go up against the town hall and you can win,” said Brovkin, the founder of the online blog, the Kirkland Citizen Association.

Brovkin said he just learned the outcome of the court proceedings in a brief email from his lawyer, simply informing him that he had won the case.

A written decision is expected next week.

“We have created a precedent. Municipalities should take note,” said Brovkin. “The court has defended democratic principles.”

Joanne Casey, a spokesperson for the town of Kirkland said the town would not be issuing a statement on the case until after town officials had had a chance to read the written judgment.

Last summer, the city launched a lawsuit against Brovkin after he refused to remove two posts from kirklandcitizen.com, which the city claimed were defamatory. One of the posts stated councillor André Allard had cross-connected pipes at his home fixed for less than some estimates.

On March 5, a Quebec Superior Court judge dismissed the town of Kirkland’s case against Brovkin but, the city council voted to appeal the lower’s court decision.

The Quebec Court of Appeal proceedings, August 8, were to determine whether the town’s case against Brovkin would be heard.

“Obviously, I’m relieved and satisfied,” said Brovkin. “This has been bothering me for a year. “

However, he said, he wasn’t sure what would come next.

The question of Brovkin’s substantial legal costs, however, could be an issue.

Brovkin said there is something wrong with a municipality using taxpayers’ money to sue a citizen. He noted how in a Pierrefonds-Roxboro defamation case involving Michel Lebel, a former borough councillor and Bert Ward, a sitting borough councillor, both men paid their own legal expenses.

“I would like to see them (the town of Kirkland) reimburse me,” said Brovkin.

“It was a SLAPP case, an attempt to intimidate me,” he said, referring to what he perceived to be a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation.

ccornacchia@montrealgazette.com

Twitter:@cornacchiaGAZ