2011 June 14

Astley v. Verdun, 2011 ONSC 3651

Following a jury verdict in favour of the plaintiff for $250,000 general damages and $400,000 aggravated damages, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled that the plaintiff was also entitled to a permanent injunction and to partial indemnity costs of the lawsuit in the amount of $215,919.32 payable forthwith by the defendant.

The Court noted that “permanent injunctions have consistently been ordered … where either: (1) there is a likelihood that the defendant will continue to publish defamatory statements despite the finding that he is liable to the plaintiff for defamation; or (2) there is a real possibility that the plaintiff will not receive any compensation, given that enforcement against the defendant of any damage award may not be possible.” In this case, the Court found that the defendant “extended the scope of his publications after the commencement of the action by publishing his [defamatory] book and posting statements on the Internet which he refused to disengage even after the jury’s verdict.”

The permanent injunction granted by the judge prohibits the defendant from “disseminating, posting on the Internet or publishing, in any manner whatsoever, directly or indirectly, any statements or comments about the plaintiff … For further particularity, the defendant shall not publish or cause to be published or otherwise disseminate or distribute in any manner whatsoever, whether by the Internet or other medium, any statements or other communications which refer to [the plaintiff] by name, depiction or description.” “There will also be a mandatory injunction requiring the defendant to forthwith remove his blog postings dated April 29, 2011 and May 2, 2011 from the Internet, and any similar postings that refer to the plaintiff, directly or indirectly.”