BURST![Eric Woodward is seen in a file photo from 2018. He first ran for township council later that year, and was elected mayor in 2022. Rob Kruyt, Special to Postmedia News [PNG Merlin Archive]](https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/vancouversun/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/180607-ericwoodward-ftlangley-395_96965534.jpg "Eric Woodward is seen in a file photo from 2018. He first ran for township council later that year, and was elected mayor in 2022. Rob Kruyt, Special to Postmedia News [PNG Merlin Archive]")
The mayor of Langley Township is being sued by a prominent local family who say his recent comments falsely portrayed them as “loathsome developers” and “out of control villains.”
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of court actions over the past two years involving Mayor Eric Woodward, the township’s government, the Martini family and their companies, and other Langley residents including current and former political rivals.
Woodward said Tuesday the new lawsuit is politically motivated, and he “will not be silenced nor intimidated.”
The defamation lawsuit was filed last week by four members of the Martini family, a Langley family active in real estate, moviemaking, and agriculture. It alleges Woodward defamed them during a July 16 interview with CKNW radio host Mike Smyth.
During the broadcast, Woodward and Smyth discussed a legal action launched in 2024 by the Martini family’s companies, including Lorval Developments and Martini Film Studio, challenging the validity of the Township of Langley’s system of collecting fees from developers.
The B.C. Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Martinis in June 2025 , finding Langley’s policy for community amenity contributions exceeded the municipality’s legal authority, and was invalid.
Speaking on CKNW, Woodward mentioned Thomas and Gemma Martini by name, saying they were co-ordinating with a law firm to try to avoid paying community amenity contributions, and were “actually even so brazen as to now be seeking refunds on monies already paid to the municipality.”
Woodward said some developers, like the Martinis, aggressively try to “extract as much additional wealth for themselves as possible at the municipality’s expense.”
The lawsuit alleges Woodward’s comments on the radio defamed the Martinis by giving the false impression they were “loathsome,” “untrustworthy,” and “out of control villains unethically taking advantage of Langley’s working families to line their own pockets with unjustified additional wealth by evading necessary community amenity contributions that decent developers willingly make.”
Smyth, CKNW, and the station’s parent company are not named as defendants, and only Woodward is accused of defamation.
In a statement through his lawyer, Thomas Martini said Tuesday: “We appreciate there may be public interest in the claim, but we’ll have no comment about it while it is before the courts.”
The allegations in the lawsuit have not been tested in court.
Woodward, who is seeking re-election this year, says he plans to file his response by next week.
“I will let my response speak for itself, as do the merits (or lack thereof) of this action. Is there an election going on?” Woodward said Tuesday in an email to Postmedia.
“I will not be silenced, nor intimidated, and will always stand up for Langley’s families, seniors, and taxpayers.”
The defamation lawsuit forms part of what Woodward described as a “tangled web” of court actions.
In May 2025, Woodward and two Langley Township councillors, Rob Rindt and Timothy Baillie, filed a lawsuit alleging they had been defamed in a series of online posts. Thomas Martini was eventually added as a defendant to that lawsuit, as were several other Langley residents. Among them were Rich Coleman, a former B.C. MLA who unsuccessfully ran against Woodward in Langley’s 2022 mayoral election, and current Langley Township Coun. Kim Richter. Richter is seeking re-election this year with Langley Strong, the chief rival party to Woodward’s Progress for Langley party. Richter and her husband, Bob, counter-sued last October accusing Woodward, Rindt and Baillie of abuse of process.
In May of this year, Rindt and Baillie dropped out of the defamation lawsuit, leaving Woodward to proceed as the only plaintiff. The defendants in that lawsuit have denied wrongdoing, and no trial date has been set.
Then, last month, a group of 10 Langley citizens filed a petition in court seeking to have Woodward, Rindt, and Baillie disqualified from holding political office for four years, alleging the politicians breached the community charter by using public funds for the lawsuit launched the previous year. The three politicians responded last week in court, saying they acted in good faith and broke no rules to merit disqualification, and that the petition was inadmissible anyway because it was filed past the time limit.
The Richters did not reply to a request for comment, and their lawyer, David Sutherland, would not discuss the matter.