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FREDERICTON — In a cautionary tale about venting on social media, a New Brunswick artist has been ordered to pay damages for defaming a gallery owner.

Ryan Livingstone has been ordered to pay Fredericton gallery owner Ingrid Mueller almost $3,000 because of a Facebook comment.

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Court documents show Livingstone called her a thief in a Facebook post in the midst of a dispute over payment for a piece of art.

Livingstone had an oral contract with Mueller for the display and sale of his artwork.

According to the court ruling, the commission rate for bronze and aluminum sculptures was 33 per cent, and the sale of one item in August 2013 went smoothly.

However he did not get prompt payment after the sale of a sculpture for $4,000 in December 2013, and still had not received payment by the summer of 2014.

Mueller testified that she had to move her gallery because of flooding, there was illness in her family and she was considering bankruptcy at the time.