2015 January 26

Warman v. National Post Co, 2015 ONSC 267

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Master) dismissed an application by the defendant Levant for production of certain information obtained by an independent expert’s review of the plaintiff’s computer, in the context of a defamation action commenced in 2008 under Ontario’s Simplified Procedure. The Court held there was no obligation to disclose irrelevant data under a protocol prescribed by the Court in 2010, which involved using specified single word search terms to identify potentially relevant documents on the plaintiff’s computer. Although the various single word search terms generated numerous “hits” in over 12,000+ pages, the application of the “proportionality” principle meant defence counsel were not entitled to review documents that plaintiff’s counsel had determined were not relevant to the case, as pleaded. The Court was satisfied that the plaintiff had already produced all relevant information and that any further production would be an impermissible fishing expedition.