In Caron v A, 2015 BCCA 47 [Caron], the British Columbia Court of Appeal (“BCCA”) was tasked with determining whether complaints to the police should be protected by absolute privilege, and thus, not actionable for defamation. In concluding that qualified, not absolute, privilege applied, the BCCA supported the long-standing truth that protection of reputation is tied to the […]
Jian Ghomeshi was fired from CBC on October 26, 2014 after CBC received evidence that he had caused physical injury to a woman. In response, Ghomeshi filed a $55 million lawsuit alleging defamation and breach of confidence against his former employer. He also submitted a union grievance alleging wrongful dismissal and defamation. Many legal experts […]
These days, the pen (or, perhaps, the keyboard) is truly mightier than the sword. Pens shape public perception, and that power endures beyond borders and beyond lifetimes in our digital age of information. But as the adage goes, with great power comes great responsibility. The international media frenzy surrounding the Rob Ford saga has intensified […]
At some point, we’ve all been there. Be it on Facebook, Twitter, or as the case was for John Baglow and Roger Smith, on a blog, many could quite easily recall an instance in which he or she took to the Internet to discuss the issues of the day. Surely, one need not spend hours […]
In the companion cases of Breeden v Black, 2012 SCC 19 [Breeden] and Éditions Écosociété Inc. et al. v Banro Corp., 2012 SCC 18 [Banro], the Supreme Court of Canada clarified the manner in which courts should determine whether to exercise jurisdiction over multijurisdictional defamation claims involving foreign defendants. Although the decisions support the ability of plaintiffs to […]
On October 17, 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada released its landmark decision in Crookes v Newton, [2011] 3 SCR 269 [Crookes], affirming 2009 BCCA 392 and 2008 BCSC 1424. At issue was whether creating an internet hyperlink to defamatory material constitutes "publication" of the material for the purposes of defamation law. The case challenged […]
The past year has been quite the roller coaster for libel and defamation cases here at TheCourt.ca. Our Senior Contributing Editor, Tiffany Wong, covered two crucial UK cases here and here, as well as the titillating "Officer Bubbles" story here. Just over a year ago, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") also released the landmark […]
Newspapers once again find themselves on the losing side of libel suits. On July 13, 2010, in Flood v. Times Newspaper Ltd. [2010] EWCA Civ 804 (“Flood”), the England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division) (“EWCA”) overturned the trial decision and held that a newspaper was unable to claim qualified privilege for online reporting […]
On September 22, 2010, Toronto Police Constable Adam Josephs launched a lawsuit in the Ontario Superior Court: Adam Josephs v. YouTube et. al (2010) CV-10-410890 (Ont. Sup. Ct.) (“Josephs v. YouTube”). In the suit, Constable Josephs sues video sharing website YouTube for $1.25 million. He seeks damages for defamation of his reputation and disclosure of […]
Limits of journalistic press freedom for qualified-privilege and fair comment are hotly debated in jurisdictions around the world as courts try to balance the public interest in freedom of information with private reputational interests battling defamation. Last year, TheCourt covered Grant v. Torstar Corp., 2009 SCC 61 ("Torstar Corp."), a decision that ranked as the top […]