2006 November 17

A.T. v L.T.H., 2006 BCSC 1689

In this lawsuit, the British Columbia Supreme Court continued (with certain modifications) an interlocutory consent injunction originally granted in May 2006 which prohibited the defendant ex-wife from publishing anything in any way, including the internet, relating to: (i) the plaintiff ex-husband; (ii) the couple’s pre-adolescent daughter; (iii) this proceeding; and/or (iv) another lawsuit in which the ex-wife sued a number of parties alleging wrongdoing. The Court noted that the ex-wife continued to allege that the plaintiff ex-husband physically and sexually abused and neglected the pre-adolescent daughter although her allegations were rejected (a) by another judge of the BC Supreme Court following a lengthy trial and (b) again years later by a different judge of the BC Supreme Court following many days of hearings.

Until the defendant ex-wife was restrained by the May, 2006 consent injunction, she used the internet to seek public support for her claims, posting information which described the alleged sexual abuse, provided particulars of the alleged abuse and personal details of the pre-adolescent daughter, such as her name, photograph, school name and home address.

The Court noted that the ex-wife’s allegations would be defamatory and stated that “injunctions restraining anticipated defamation are rare but can be made in appropriate circumstances, such as to prevent irreparable harm by protecting the identity of people alleged to have perpetrated sexual assaults.” Although the Court accordingly granted a continuation of the injunction (with minor modifications), it required the ex-husband to either amend his claim in this lawsuit within 20 days to seek a permanent injunction or to commence separate legal proceedings seeking such relief.