Kat Florence suing residents for defamation over online posts

GUELPH – Kat Florence Elora Limited is suing three area residents for defamation over posts made to community Facebook groups.

According to the lawsuits, the posts appeared between October and June in local Facebook groups: Fergus/Elora Community News, Centre Wellington Community Share and Fergus/Elora Bitch & Complain.

The content ranges in severity, from criticism of landlord and business practices to what the claims characterize as accusations of criminal behaviour and corruption.

Kat Florence Elora director Kristy Hillis, named in the claims as Kristy Florence, and husband Don Kogen purchased the former Commercial House in 2021, renovating the Elora building and opening it as the luxury Kat Florence Hotel in 2024.

The couple also owns several downtown properties.

Lawsuits issued in Guelph Superior Court in June say the online posts portray the couple as buying up much of downtown Elora, pushing out tenants and, in one case, exerting influence over town hall.

The plaintiffs say the defendants acted "out of malice ... with the deliberate intention of discrediting their reputations and holding them up to public scandal, ridicule and contempt" while publishing "in reckless disregard of the truth" and injuring the plaintiffs’ “credit, character and reputation.”

The plaintiffs added in court filings that the restoration of the Commercial House went through heritage permitting, zoning approvals and "multiple rounds of public process and regulatory review,” and that a downtown restaurant lease was severed after "significant tenant default."

A total of $425,000 in damages is being sought in addition to removal of posts, retractions and apologies, and injunctions barring the residents from publishing anything about the plaintiffs.

Two separate claims for general damages against Elora resident Paloma von Fielitz and Guelph resident Ben Williams deal with posts each allegedly made this spring critiquing business practices.

The claim against von Fielitz – listing Kat Florence Elora, Hillis and Kogen as plaintiffs – seeks $100,000 in damages.

Von Fielitz declined to comment when contacted by the Advertiser.

Reached by phone, her lawyer Paul Dollak said his priority is to resolve the suit without litigation.

“We are going to be contesting the allegations of defamation and furthermore we will be taking the position that it is a SLAPP lawsuit, and if not resolved outside of court, it is likely that a motion to dismiss the case on the basis of being an SLAPP lawsuit will be commenced,” Dollak added.

A SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) is a claim that uses the burden of litigation to deter public criticism.

The claim against Williams, listing only Kat Florence Elora as a plaintiff, seeks $75,000.

Attempts to reach Williams were unsuccessful.

The third claim, against Wallenstein resident Trevor Wedgewood, seeks $250,000 in general, aggravated and punitive damages related to 24 posts he allegedly made between October and June. Kat Florence Elora, Hillis and Kogen are listed as plaintiffs.

Wedgewood declined to comment when reached by the Advertiser.

None of the allegations in the claims have been tested in court. Damages sought must be substantiated in court, and civil actions rarely make it to trial, with most either withdrawn or settled out of court.

“My clients believe that defamatory comments were made; they haven't been retracted,” Kim Ferreira, Hillis and Kogen’s lawyer, said by phone.

“They don’t believe they (the posts) accurately reflect fair comment."

Ferreira wouldn’t say if retractions now would bring an end to the suits.

“There were notices of defamation issued before … now the claims have been brought,” he said.

Ferreira declined to comment on whether others were served libel notices for online posts.

Of the three defendants, only von Fielitz had filed a notice of intent to defend as of July 28.

Last year, Hillis and Kogen pulled $3 million in funding for Elora tourism projects citing online vitriol directed at them and Kat Florence.

The couple has been simultaneously praised and rebuked for a Kat Florence-orchestrated Christmas market in 2024 – and a subsequent attempt at a similar market for Monster Month in 2025 – as well as for the closure of the Gorge Cinema earlier this year for renovations.

The couple vowed last year to go after those they said were defaming their family and business.