2012 October 2

McDonald v. Freedman, 2012 ONSC 5253, leave to appeal to the Divisional Court granted February 5, 2013, 2013 ONSC 812

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed a defence application for summary judgment in relation to an allegedly defamatory email sent to the Minister of Health and Long Term Care for Ontario with a copy to the president of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. The email related to the scientific controversy arising from so-called “liberation therapy” advocated by Dr. Zamboni and “seized upon by [the plaintiff] as a possible cure for MS.” The Court noted that summary judgment has rarely been granted in defamation cases in Ontario, referring to the decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Baglow v Smith, 2012 ONCA 407, and held that the plaintiff should have the opportunity to have a jury determine whether the email “went beyond the bounds of scientific and regulatory discourse and whether it was sent maliciously with an intent to injure and not for purposes of advancing … a bona fide complaint.”