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VANCOUVEROne wrong move by a chess instructor a typo, as it turned out spawned a mess of mistaken identity, forensic phone analysis and allegations of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.

The typo was hidden in the address book belonging to Toni Deline, former president of the British Columbia Chess Federation. Hed entered the phone number of a fellow chess player incorrectly a slip up that set the stage for a series of events that would result in Deline suing a Jewish school for defamation.

And despite having his lawsuit dismissed by the B.C. Supreme Court, Deline insists his match with his former employer isnt over yet.

It all began in the summer of 2016, when Deline told the Vancouver Talmud Torah, the Jewish school where he worked as a chess instructor, that he could not commit to another year of teaching. Then, on Sept. 21, 2016, he received a text message that shocked him.

Im terribly sorry Toni, but I can no longer vouch for the Jewish schooling as I recently converted to the faith of Islam, it read.

According to Delines phone, the text was from James Chan, the chess instructor the school had hired to replace him.

At this point, Deline already had a negative impression of Chan. He told the Star they had previously gotten into a disagreement about a teaching job at another school.

Deline mulled over his next move for a few months before deciding he had no choice but to warn the school.

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This fateful decision led to a series of events that would culminate with him suing the school, citing claims of defamation and negligence that have now been rejected by the B.C. Supreme Court.

In his written decision, released online on Feb. 25, 2020, Justice Geoffrey Gomery details what happened.

In January 2017, Deline went to the Vancouver Talmud Torah Association, which had hired Chan to replace Deline as a chess instructor at its school. He showed a staff member the text message.

The staff member called Chan to talk about the text message, and during the call, they noticed the discrepancy in the phone numbers. The text had not been sent by Chan after all and the school considered the matter handled.

But Deline continued to email the school for months with an offer to find another chess instructor to replace Chan. The school ignored him.

By spring, Deline was sending emails using terms such as anti-Jewish text and snake in the grass to refer to Chan, according to court documents.

Thats when the head of the school finally replied. We have investigated the concerns raised in your emails, and have determined that to the extent they relate to VTT, they are unfounded. In particular, we are satisfied that James did not send the text message described in your email.

From there, things escalated dramatically.

According to the judges decision, the school contacted Vancouver police about Deline in April, alleging Deline was mentally ill, paranoid and Islamophobic.

Deline believed that the school must have thought he had fabricated the text message why else wouldnt they believe him? and hired a forensic expert to analyze his phone.

Amazingly, the expert also failed to notice the one-digit difference in the phone number, according to Deline.

So at this point, Deline still didnt know that it was a case of mistaken identity.

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In September 2017, he mailed a letter to an acquaintance who taught at Vancouver Talmud Torah and said he was planning to sue the school.

The next month, the school went to police again, accusing Deline of harassing the teacher.

Speaking with the Star on Monday, Deline said he finally learned of his mistake in May 2018, when his lawyer sent the forensic phone report to the schools lawyer, who pointed out the discrepancy the phone number was off by one digit.

Deline said that to this day he doesnt know who sent the text.

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In 2019, Deline sued the school for defamation and negligence defamation because the school had allegedly described him as a paranoid Islamophobe and negligence because the school waited for months before telling him about the phone number discrepancy.

How can you not tell someone, said Deline, referring to the discrepancy with the phone number.

If they had told him, he said, Then none of it would have happened.

The Vancouver Talmud Torah Association did not return the Stars request for comment.

Gomery dismissed both of Delines claims.

VTT did not owe Mr. Deline a duty to respond to or correct unsolicited communications from him, wrote the judge.

Gomery explained that the school had done enough to cover its legal bases. He also quashed Delines argument that the situation is like one of a teacher and their student, where it is not enough to tell the child that theyre wrong, you have to make them understand.

Deline was not in a position of a child, wrote Gomery, but rather that of an independent adult.

Gomery then dismissed Delines allegation of defamation, explaining that Deline had failed to prove he suffered damages as a result of what the school told police.

Deline spent $4,864 hiring the forensic analyst and lawyer, according to court documents. But Gomery said neither expenditure had anything to do with what was said to (Vancouver police).

Deline, who once competed in international chess tournaments and captained Vancouvers chess team, told the Star that the ordeal has cost him his reputation in the chess community.

I havent gone to anything for a couple of years over this, he said, noting that if he did attend tournaments, all Im going to do is be ridiculed.

Reached last week, Chan said he hopes to put the matter behind him.

Im just happy that (the school) has less to worry about because I know it was stressful.

Deline said he is planning to appeal the courts decision.

Read more here:
The chess teachers gambit: How a typo led to a defamation lawsuit - Toronto Star