2008 June 6

Shekhdar v. K&M Engineering and Consulting Corp., [2008] O.J. No. 2251

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed defamation claims brought by the plaintiff after his employment had been terminated by the defendant. The plaintiff claimed he had been defamed in the letter of termination which had been delivered only to him, in an oral statement to the Virginia Exchange Commission and in an email sent to defence counsel in order to respond to allegations made by plaintiff’s counsel. The Court held that allegedly defamatory email to defence counsel did not involve an actionable publication to third parties because it constituted “internal comments made solely for the purposes of advising counsel as to the facts and circumstances of the matter and sent only to counsel” acting on behalf of the defendant.