Read this case and describe how defamation is an issue in this case: Around Thanksgiving $2021,$ things started to go wrong. Nancy, who had agreed to take care of the administrative end of the business, had fallen behind in paying the firm$$s bills and several suppliers were becoming impatient. At the same time, payments were not coming in from their customers and Nancy was too busy to spend time chasing the delinquent accounts. Mainly as a result of this, cash flow was tight. By this time, Sidney and Nancy$$s business had paid $$15,000$ of the initial loan. The pair approached the manager of the bank for an additional $$40,000$ in order to pay off the remainder of the initial loan and have an additional $$5,000$ to get them through their $$tight spot$.$ The bank manager agreed and provided the needed funds with all of Compact$$s business assets to be secured against the additional funds.

One night a couple of weeks later, Sidney was delivering a computer to a customer on his way home from work and had an accident. A young woman in the other car, Freda Schmidt, was seriously injured, suffering serious neck and back injuries. It was determined that Sidney had made an improper lane change and he was charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle. As it turned out, Freda was a highly paid administrative assistant and when her boss learned she could be off work for at least three months, was going to sue for the loss of her services and the cost of replacing her on a temporary basis.

By early November, the average time Compact took to repair a computer had slipped from $4$ business days to $7$ or $8$ business days. After several complaints from International to Compact, International advised Compact that it was cancelling the contract because Compact had breached the contract. International Tire Inc. stopped sending its computers to Compact for repair.

In addition, during the last two months of their first year, the economy went from bad to worse. Orders dropped off, suppliers were screaming for payment in full on their overdue accounts, and the bank was threatening to seize the collateral posted as security for their loan. Sidney and Nancy decided that they had had enough and decided to declare bankruptcy. Believing that uncle Fred was in the clear, it seemed like they had nothing to lose. The bank could $$go pound salt$.$

In the week before the pair were to visit their lawyer to discuss the bankruptcy process, Sid and Nancy wrote cheques to three of their suppliers whom they felt had treated them well and who they did not want to leave with nothing. They also arranged to sell off some unused inventory to a discount warehouse for $30\%$ of its original value. They pocketed the cash they received from the sale, believing that they were entitled to it as compensation for all of their hard work.

In early January $2022,$ they met with their lawyer to start bankruptcy proceedings. They disclosed their financial situation, including the most recent loan arrangement they had with the bank. Although the lawyer only gave the initial loan agreement with the bank a quick look, he assured them the inventory was the only security the bank was entitled to$.$ The delivery van, which was leased, could be returned to the leasing company without any additional costs and they would simply abandon the lease for the building they were using as a workshop.

Meanwhile, the leasing company, having heard about Compact$$s troubles, decided to try and recover their van, fearing that bankruptcy proceedings could see it tied up for weeks once the trustee in bankruptcy put a lock on Compact$$s premises. They ordered their agents to break into Sidney & Nancy$$s shop late one night to recover the van. In doing so$,$ the agents broke the padlock on the door and, while moving through the dimly lit premises, one of the agents tripped over an electric heater which ignited a puddle of solvent Nancy had spilled and failed to clean up$.$

The solvent ignited immediately causing a fire that quickly spread through the shop.

Serious damage was done to the shop and one of the agents sustained serious burns while putting the fire out. He was out of work for three months recovering from the injuries.