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Bride ordered to pay photographer $115,000 after online abuse ruined business

A bride dissatisfied with her wedding photographer has been ordered to pay the woman $115,000 after running the business into the ground through her excessive online trolling.

Emily Liao hired photographer Kitty Chan and her company Amara Wedding to document her big day on July 4, 2015, in Vancouver for just over $6000.

But, after a pre-wedding photoshoot, Ms Liao decided that she wasn't happy with Ms Chan's services and immediately stopped payment.

According to Canadian media outlet The Star, Ms Chan's staff completed the contract but withheld the photos and videos until payment was received.

Throughout the year that followed, Ms Liao published a torrent of online abuse directed at Ms Chan and her business.

The case came before the British Columbia Supreme Court, with Justice Gordon Weatherill describing the bride's actions as "unrelenting".

He said Ms Liao's "mission was to expose what she wrongly perceived as a corrupt business" and that she used online platforms to cause "as much damage as possible" to Ms Chan's reputation.

The court heard Ms Liao took to the internet to accuse Amara Wedding of "fraud", "extortion" and "lying to consumers".

The jilted bride was ordered to pay the photographer $115,000 in damages. Source: File/Getty
The jilted bride was ordered to pay the photographer $115,000 in damages. Source: File/Getty

She used both English and Chinese sites to post false allegations to specifically target Ms Chan's Chinese clientele, which make up most of her business, Judge Weatherill found.

He ordered the jilted bride to pay $75,000 in general damages, $15,000 in aggravated damages and $25,000 in punitive damages.

Amara Wedding employees were let go and the business closed in January 2017.