2006 November 16

Inform Cycle Ltd. v. Rebound Inc. (c.o.b. Rebound Cycle), 2006 ABQB 825

The Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench summarily dismissed a claim for defamation against the defendant company holding that it not vicariously liable for the acts of its employee R Draper (an ex-employee of the plaintiff) who admitted doing “a very silly thing.” “Believing he was owed $1500 by his former employers, he used the internet connection of his present employer [the defendant company] to register the name of the former employer’s company as a domain name … hoping to sell the domain name to his former employers and make back the money he says he is owed. However, he didn’t stop there. He says that he then directed the domain name [of his former employer to his current employer’s website], and later to a pornographic website.”

Rejecting the plaintiff’s submissions there were sound policy reasons to hold the corporate defendant liable for the employee’s misuse of its computer facilities, particularly since the defendant had no written policy with respect to internet use or email, the Court noted there was no connection between R Draper’s redirection of the web domain address and his duties as an employee. “In today’s world, virtually all employees who work in offices, stores, or restaurants have access to computers, telephones and faxes. The Plaintiff’s argument would lead to the result that employers are liable for a single unauthorized act or an employee where communications equipment that is accessible and incidental to the employee’s position, such as computers and telephones, is used for the employee’s own improper purpose.”