2010 November 15

Nesbitt v. Neufeld, 2010 BCSC 1605, appeal dismissed: 2011 BCCA 529

The British Columbia Supreme Court awarded the defendant business woman Neufeld (plaintiff by counterclaim) general damages of $40,000 for the defamation and breach of privacy claims made in her counterclaim against her husband Nesbitt, a family physician. The award related, among other things, to a defamatory email sent by the husband to the Rotary Club, a website specifically targeting the Neufeld, and a Facebook page. The Court stated that it “limit[ed] the defamation damages due to the fact that while it is plainly publication to the world in the sense the defamatory material was put on the Internet, Ms. Neufeld indicated there has been little personal or professional backlash.”