2010 October 4

Vladi v. Krolow, 2010 ONSC 5484

The Ontario Superior Court dismissed an ex parte application by the plaintiffs for (i) an Anton Piller order authorizing a search and seizure of the defendants’ business computers and (ii) an interim interlocutory injunction prohibiting the latter from publishing any further allegedly defamatory statements and requiring the defendants to remove and “unpublish” all allegedly defamatory statements about the plaintiffs from their website or otherwise within their control. The plaintiffs’ sought an Anton Piller order to seek evidence supporting their allegation that the defendants had disseminated allegedly defamatory emails using an alias. Rejecting an Anton Piller order, the Court noted there was no evidence to support an allegation the defendants would intentionally destroy evidence. As regards the proposed injunction, the Court noted the plaintiff’s application was brought more than two months after they became aware of the allegedly defamatory website publications, and stated: “I am not prepared to grant an interim interlocutory injunction on an ex parte basis in the absence of evidence that a delay to provide the defendants with notice of the motion is likely to result in serious and irreparable harm to the plaintiffs.” The Court left open the possibility of a renewed application for an injunction on notice to the defendants.