Alexander Alton

The plaintiff initiated a motion for civil contempt against the defendant for breaching an interlocutory injunction that prohibited the publication of false or defamatory statements.

The court found the defendant in contempt for publishing defamatory statements on her personal websites and one specific third-party website, concluding that she either published or caused the publication of these statements.

However, the court did not find sufficient proof beyond a reasonable doubt for other third-party website postings.

The decision outlines the three-part test for civil contempt and provides specific actions the defendant must take to purge the contempt, including deleting defamatory content and requesting removal from third-party sites, prior to a penalty hearing.

The Plaintiff sought a civil contempt order against the Defendant for breaching an interlocutory injunction prohibiting defamatory statements.

The court found the first two elements of contempt (clear order, knowledge) were met, but the third element (intentional breach) could not be fairly determined on affidavit evidence alone due to controverted facts and credibility issues.

The motion was adjourned for an oral hearing with viva voce evidence, and the injunction remained in effect with additional directives for the Defendant regarding intermediaries.