2025 July 14

Lamtiri v. Jerando, 2025 QCCS 2417

The Superior Court of Quebec awarded the plaintiff lawyer $70,000 for moral damages, $85,000 punitive damages and $9,514 for pecuniary damages over eight defamatory videos and posts on Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. Although the videos and posts made multiple serious false accusations, the Court observed that the defendant and his platforms were relatively obscure and less likely to be taken seriously. The pecuniary damages award was an indemnity for the costs of hiring security services to protect the plaintiff’s home. The defendant defied an interlocutory injunction, was convicted of contempt, and stopped the defamatory broadcasts for over a year as this case proceeded. On the eve of trial, however, the defendant launched a second wave of six seriously defamatory videos. During the first wave, the YouTube videos generated close to a million views and, on average, each received 4,800 likes, 240 comments, and was retweeted 350 times. The trial judge also granted the plaintiff a permanent injunction.