2016 November 8

Able Translations Ltd. v. Express International Translations Inc., 2016 ONSC 6785

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed a defamation claim relating to a blog posting made during the 2015 Canadian Federal election, relying on the new Ontario anti-SLAPP law in section 137.1 of the Courts of Justice Act, RSO 1990, c. C43, Section 137.1  First, the plaintiff failed to prove the corporate defendant was involved in the impugned publication. Further, the plaintiff failed to satisfy the Court that the proceeding against the individual defendant had “substantial merit.”  The two blog postings at issue “would leave an uninformed spectator wondering what they were about.”  “A reasonable person would know that the suggestion is made on the internet and that the internet is replete with claims – both true and false, both attributed and anonymous.”  The Court found that “a reasonable person would have no basis on which to form any view at all beyond learning that the author has formed a negative view and appears to be looking to contact others with similar negative views to seek greater publicity of the grounds for those views.” “A claim premised on such a weak ‘sting’ does not meet the required standard of possessing ‘substantial merit’.  It is to the contrary marginal and dubious.”