2009 March 31

Black v. Breeden, [2009] O.J. No. 1292

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed a defence motion to stay six related libel actions brought by the plaintiff Conrad Black holding that there was a real and substantial connection with Ontario and that the province was a convenient and appropriate forum. The Court held, inter alia: “The case law is clear that the heart of a libel action is publication. The tort of defamation is committed where the publication takes place. Publication occurs when the words are heard, read or downloaded. The statements in question may well have been made in the U.S. by directors or advisors of the U.S. company, but they were published or republished in Ontario and they are alleged to have caused injury in Ontario. The connection between the subject matter of the actions and Ontario is thus significant.” With respect to the American defendants, the Court held that they can be “connected to Ontario if it was reasonably foreseeable to these defendants that the allegedly defamatory press releases posted on their company’s New York website would be downloaded and published in Ontario and would result in damage to the plaintiff’s reputation in Ontario.”