2017 February 7

United Soils Management v. Barclay, 2017 ONSC 918

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Master) ruled that the judge hearing an anti-SLAPP motion should  consider all of the pleadings before determining whether the tests in Ontario’s Courts of Justice Act, s. 137.1(5) are satisfied. Section 137.1 provides that  a judge shall dismiss a proceeding that “arises from an expression made by the [defendant] that relates to a matter of public interest” unless the plaintiff satisfies the judge that there are grounds to believe that the proceeding has substantial merit, and the defendant has no valid defence, and the harm likely to be suffered by the plaintiff as a result of the expression is sufficiently serious that the public interest in permitting the proceeding to continue outweighs the public interest in protecting that expression.

In this case, the plaintiff alleged that the defendant published false, malicious and defamatory statements about the plaintiff in text messages exchanged on Facebook. The Court Master concluded that the plaintiff should be permitted to seek an order requiring the defence to deliver certain particulars of its defence and counterclaim, and to produce certain documents, which the plaintiff required in order to prepare a reply to the statement of defence and to prepare a defence to the counterclaim of the defendant. The Court therefore made orders that the defendant deliver certain particulars and documents.