2011 May 20

Astley v. Verdun, Ontario Court File No. 06-CV-311034PD3

An Ontario Superior Court of Justice jury awarded damages totalling $650,000 to the plaintiff, a prominent businessman, over various defamatory publications by the defendant, a shareholder activist and former newspaper publisher. The defamatory publications included letters to the Ontario Securities Commission, newspapers, emails and blog postings. Many of the publications complained of were webcast. The award consisted of $250,000 general damages and $400,000 aggravated damages.