2008 May 20

Vincent v. Forget, 2008 QCCS 2466

The Quebec Superior Court held that s. 68 of the Quebec Civil Procedure Code required a lawsuit for defamation based on publication on a website to be brought in the judicial district of Joliette where the defendant resided and where his computer was located. The Court rejected submissions by the plaintiff that the website publication was, by analogy, a “libelle de presse” (newspaper libel), in which case a plaintiff would be entitled to bring the case in the judicial district where the plaintiff resides. Accordingly, the lawsuit was ordered by a justice of the District of Quebec to be transferred to the District of Joliette. [Note:  This decision turned on the wording of the Quebec Civil Procedure Code]