2019 July 12

Salon Karo Pro Koiffe c. Lafferiere,  2019 QCCS 4352

The Superior Court of Quebec ordered the defendant Lafferriere to pay a total of $12,500 defamation damages to the corporate and individual plaintiffs.  Broken down, the judgment amounts were as follows: $4,000 to the plaintiff Fiset for moral damages; $1,000 to the plaintiff Lavoie; $5,000 pecuniary damages to the plaintiff Salon Karo Pro Koiffe; and $2,500 punitive damages jointly to all three plaintiffs. The plaintiffs, who operated a hair salon, were defamed in postings by the defendant on her own Facebook page and on the Salon’s business Facebook page.  The defendant also posted a one star review on Google which urged people not to patronize the Salon.  This ruling noted that one defamatory comment concerning the plaintiff Fiset had become the object of 466 comments and 108 shares.