2017 December 14

Ironside v. Roskam, 2017 ONSC 7416

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice made an order under s. 140(1) of the Ontario Courts of Justice Act finding that the defendant is a “vexatious litigant” and that he required leave of the Court before commencing any future proceedings.  However, the Court dismissed an application for an injunction requiring the defendant to remove any postings about the applicant from the Internet, including posts on the defendant’s webpages and on YouTube.  The Court concluded that although the actions of the defendant would be sufficient to engage the Court’s jurisdiction to grant an injunction under the heads of defamation and harassment, the Applicant himself had been involved in the same type of behaviour, including posting videos about the defendant on the Applicant’s own websites. The Court stated: “In short, the Applicant has come to this Court seeking relief with ‘unclean hands.’  Accordingly, I am not prepared to grant the relief he seeks.”