A celebrated novelist and former UBC professor was admitted to a psychiatric hospital and frequently was physically ill to the point of vomiting when he learned he was accused of sexually assaulting a student, his defamation lawsuit trial heard on Monday.

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Steven Galloway learned of the accusations while on a business trip to Dayton, Ohio, and his wife flew there as he had been admitted to hospital and was under suicide watch, she testified as the first witness at the long-awaited trial in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver.

Trial opens in defamation lawsuit by former UBC prof accused of sex assault by student Back to video

“He was in a hospital gown, he was upset, he was crying, he was shaky, he had wanted to find out what had happened. … He knew there had been an accusation,” Katie Wagner said on the first day of the trial to hear his lawsuit against a former student, identified only as A.B. The trial is scheduled for 23 days.

Wagner testified their family’s life was upended by reports online that he was a “rapist.”

Galloway has sued A.B. and several others for defamation after the allegations 11 years ago.

Eight defendants settled with him out of court earlier this year before the trial in the complex libel battle that had started about eight years ago.

Just days ago, former creative writing student Chelsea Rooney, one of the loudest voices against Galloway, made a public and “unreserved” apology to Galloway for the harm she did to him, his family and others.

Rooney said she regretted the role she played when UBC — as well as writing professors Keith Maillard and Annabel Lyon — asked her to build a case against Galloway by independently collecting complaints about him from up to 20 former students and others.

Galloway, the author of the bestselling novels The Cellist Of Sarajevo and The Confabulist, years ago had received $227,000 in damages from UBC for its mishandling of his termination.

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He remains unable to write. He now sells boats for a living.

The case now is largely about damages and what he’s owed by A.B. and the three other defendants who did not settle before trial. They are Mandi Gray, an academic and author of the book Suing For Silence: Sexual Violence And Defamation Law, Glynnis Kirchmeier, an activist specializing in sex-related cases, and Dana Kagis.

They are defending the lawsuit on various grounds.

A.B. denies she caused damages, alleges that any damage was caused by Galloway and says he failed to mitigate the damages.

Testimony by Galloway and witnesses will provide evidence about the impact the accusations has had on him and his family, his lawyer told court.

“It’s hard to imagine the nightmare that one lives through being accused of being a rapist and having to live through that for 10 years now,” lawyer Dan Burnett told Justice Neena Sharma, his voice shaking.

The lawyer for A.B., who cannot be identified because of an earlier court order, spent the morning on Monday arguing an application to continue the anonymization of her name, even during the court proceedings and in court judgments.

A.B.’s lawyer argued her name should not be revealed even in court because of the harm he said it would cause her because of the notoriety of the case and the abuse she has suffered when her name became public earlier in the court case.

He read out an vile, misogynistic email that had been sent to her, saying it was one of the many emails and social postings she had read.

He also said she had attempted suicide earlier this year and said there was a link between her reaction to the postings and the ill effects on her mental health.

He also argued that by not protecting her identity, there would be a chilling effect on others who face sexual assault and their willingness to go to authorities if they knew they could be identified.

And he said withholding “just her name” during the proceedings governed by the open court principle would not impede media outlets from covering the issue of consent during sexual encounters, especially on university campuses.

And he said that it wouldn’t affect the plaintiff’s right to repudiation of the accusations if he were successful with the lawsuit.

Burnett said he was not opposed to a continuance of the anonymization of the defendant A.B.

The trial continues.

slazaruk@postmedia.com