2013 July 18

Kim v. Dongpo News, 2013 ONSC 4426

The Ontario Superior Court declined to rule whether an internet article that is published internationally on-line by a newspaper in another country can be considered to be part of a “newspaper printed and published in Ontario” within the meaning of the Ontario Libel and Slander Act on the basis no expert evidence had been put before the Court by the defendant journalist who sought to rely on sections 5 and 6 of that statute. The Court went on to hold that, in any event, the plaintiff had complied with s. 5(1) in providing a notice of libel within six weeks of discovering the libel and had also commenced the action within the three month limitation period set out in s. 6 of the Libel and Slander Act based on the principle of “discoverability.” That principle provides that the limitation period only begins to run when the person defamed knew or could have known about the libel by the exercise of reasonable diligence.