2008 November 6

Lamarre c. Allard, 2008 QCCS 5266

The Quebec Superior Court awarded moral (general) damages of $15,000 for defamation which the judge held resulted from the defendant’s breach of a confidentiality clause contained in a settlement agreement. That agreement was made by the defendant in a prior civil lawsuit for damages he brought (against the plaintiff in this litigation.) In that prior lawsuit, the defendant was interviewed by a television reporter, following which stories based on that interview were broadcast on two television news bulletins and disseminated on the Internet. Although the evidence showed that the two television news bulletins reached estimated audiences of 206,700 (6:00 PM) and 67,400 (mid-day), the Court observed that the evidence did not reveal the impact of the Internet publication.