The defendant Aedan Helmer, a reporter, brought an anti-SLAPP motion under s. 137.1 of the Courts of Justice Act to dismiss an action for invasion of privacy and civil conspiracy brought by Paula Riopelle.
The action stemmed from an article published about criminal charges Riopelle faced.
The court found the article related to a matter of public interest due to the open court principle.
Riopelle failed to demonstrate that her claims had substantial merit or that Helmer had no valid defence, particularly regarding the conspiracy claim (lack of agreement) and privacy claims (publicly available information, no false light, no reckless disregard).
The court also found the public interest in protecting freedom of expression outweighed the public interest in allowing the proceeding to continue.
The motion was granted, and the action against Helmer was dismissed with costs.
