2017 February 16

Canadian Council of the Blind v. Burt, 2017 ONSC 1135

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed an application by the defendant for an Order compelling the plaintiff to provide further disclosure of documents, in a case involving an allegedly defamatory email sent by the defendant to over thirty individuals associated with the plaintiff’s organization. The defendant alleged the lawsuit was a SLAPP as defined in section 137.1 of the Courts of Justice Act, RSO 1990, c. C.43. The Court considered the application involved a “fishing expedition for evidence of claimed irregularities rather than an assessment of the Plaintiffs’ claims for defamation.” The Court also struck out portions of the statement of defence.