People are now being held to account for slanderous untruths posted to social media

May 19, 2016, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

A recent British Columbia court ruling has shone a new light on the consequences of making untrue and slanderous claims on social media. The B.C. Supreme Court ruled that ‘viral’ online posts that were ‘completely false and unjustified’ and that they had a devastating effect upon the man against whom the claims were made.

In this case which is more akin to a playground bullies actions then those of an adult a neighbourly dispute went very wrong. Katherine Van Nes installed a pond and waterfall in her garden. The noise and proximity of the garden was disturbing her neighbour and his wife’s sleep. The neighbour is a school music teacher. After approaching Van Nes several times with no resolution the neighbour eventually began to document the situation on advice of the municipality. Katherine Van Nes escalated the un-neighbourly behavior.

Van Nes responding to the municipal complaint by posting to Facebook comments suggesting that the neighbour was a pedophile who had set up a series of mirrors and cameras in his backyard and that he was spying on her children. The neighbour had in fact installed one decorative mirror in his yard.

The post went viral, and resulted in complaints being made to the man’s school about the suspicions of him being a pedophile.  Although the posts were removed a day later the damage of pedophilia accusations to the neighbour’s personal and professional reputation has been done, and are career and life altering.

The Judge noted that “He now faces the challenge of repairing the damage Ms. Van Nes has caused, if that is even possible at this point”. The neighbour was awarded $67,500 in damages and the neighbour has been ordered to shut down the waterfall between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. nightly.

It is heartening to see that the courts are beginning to take the issues of defamation and bullying online seriously.

About Deutschmann Law

Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.

The opinions expressed here, while intended to provide useful information, should not be interpreted as legal recommendations or advice.