2012 November 6

Cohen v. Desert Eagle Resources Ltd. (Garrison International Ltd.), 2012 QCCS 5654

The Quebec Superior Court rejected a pre-trial application by the defence for an Order declining jurisdiction over a defamation claim arising from press releases published on the Internet. The Court concluded that a clause in a contract requiring disputes over a promissory note to be resolved by the courts of Mongolia did not apply to this claim which was made by a Quebec resident in relation to press releases issued in Ontario.

The Court noted [rough translation from French]:

“The press releases on which the claim is based circulated here. As the Supreme Court of Canada noted in Spar Aerospace, damage to reputation occurs in the domicile of the person who is attacked.”

The Court held that the fact that the plaintiff also alleges that his reputation was injured elsewhere in Canada as well as China and Mongolia does not mean it should decline jurisdiction. Mongolia would not be a more convenient forum: the great majority of the defendants are located in Ontario.