2016 December 1

Platnick v. Bent, 2016 ONSC 7340

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed a libel action over an email pursuant to Ontario’s new anti-SLAPP law in section 137.1 of the Courts of Justice Act, RSO 1990, c. C.43. The email was sent to by the defendant lawyer to members of the Ontario Trial Lawyers’ association who subscribed to a confidential automated electronic mailing list. The Court ruled that the plaintiff had failed to prove there was “substantial merit” to the claim. With respect to the claim for republication to the insurance industry,  the Court stated: “The defendant clearly does not bear unlimited responsibility for every inaccurate or distorted repetition of her written communications disseminated by persons unknown to other persons unknown. Defamation is determined objectively by considering the words used as they would reasonably be understood by their audience, not by a consideration of how the words might be subsequently distorted through ‘broken telephone.’”

The Court also rejected the plaintiff’s submissions that the anti-SLAPP legislation violated section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which concerns liberty and security of the person.