- By Sarah Hellmann Traditionally, the personal life of an employee has been just that: personal. Employers are generally not entitled to pry or take issue with the manner in which employees conduct themselves outside of working hours. That said, the private life of an employee may indeed turn out to be the employer’s business [...]
An insurer’s duty to defend in defamation cases
November 1st, 2011 | CommentsBritish Columbia Medical Association v. Aviva, 2011 BCSC 1399, decision rendered October 19, 2011 – By Karen Zimmer A plaintiff cannot circumvent a defendant’s insurance coverage for defamation by simply pleading that the publications were made with an intent to injure and with knowledge of their falsity. The British Columbia Supreme Court held on [...]
A review of Damage Awards in Defamation
October 26th, 2011 | Comments- By David Gooderham The experience of the past ten years confirms that very large damages in defamation cases in British Columbia are relatively rare. We can count only five cases since 2001 in which the damage awards were $200,000 or higher. In contrast most damage awards for defamation in this Province remain between $10,000 [...]
Liability for hyperlinking after the Supreme Court of Canada’s Decision of Crookes v. Newton
October 23rd, 2011 | Comments- By Karen Zimmer The risk of being found liable in defamation for hyperlinking to another person’s defamatory publication lingers even after the Supreme Court of Canada decision of Crookes v. Newton, 2011 SCC 47. Many articles reporting on this recent Supreme Court of Canada decision have limited their commentary to the main ruling of [...]
Only 2 years in British Columbia to commence a defamation action, regardless of when the defamatory publication is discovered.
September 30th, 2011 | Comments-by Karen Zimmer The limitation period to commence an action for defamation in British Columbia is two years from the time of the publication, regardless of when the plaintiff becomes aware of the libel or slander. Unlike some other torts, a claimant in a defamation action will have great difficulty convincing a British Columbia Court [...]
