2019 February 26

9184‐8630 Quebec inc. c. Bouchard, 2019 QCCS 919

The Superior Court of Quebec awarded $10,000 damages and $5,000 punitive damages as well as $6,962.32 legal costs to the plaintiff over false and defamatory allegations on the defendant’s Facebook page impugning the plaintiff’s decision to retain a particular employee.  The Court found that the defendant had threatened to publish a warning to the plaintiff’s customers via the Internet about the plaintiff’s decision to employ a certain individual.  The Court noted that once a post appears on Facebook, it escapes the control of its author.   In this case, the Court found that the defamatory post had been shared or liked 2,697 times.