2025 June 9

Esfahani v. 9387-9062 Quebec Inc., 2025 QCCA 768

The Quebec Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Superior Court of Quebec which ordered the defendant to pay $20,000 compensatory and punitive damages. The defendant had published about 30 derogatory reviews on the Internet under several different names emanating from different email addresses. The trial court’s award to the plaintiff of $65,000 for legal fees and a permanent injunction were also upheld by the appeal court. “While the right to post a negative review of the restaurant as an exercise of the freedom of expression is nowhere questioned, it is the incessant injurious remarks under different names from different email addresses that invited judicial sanction, not to mention false accusations made to the health inspection authorities.”