David Stolow

The appellant brought a class action in defamation on behalf of Montreal taxi drivers whose mother tongue is Arabic or Creole, following racist and offensive comments made by a radio host.

The trial judge allowed the action, but the Court of Appeal set it aside.

The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeal, holding that while the comments were wrongful and racist, an ordinary person would not have believed they damaged the personal reputation of each individual driver in the large, heterogeneous group.

Therefore, the requirement of personal injury for a defamation claim was not met.

The appellant newspaper appealed orders compelling its journalist to answer questions that could reveal a confidential source, and a publication ban on reporting settlement negotiations in the Sponsorship Scandal litigation.

The Supreme Court of Canada held that while no class-based constitutional privilege exists for journalists, the common law Wigmore framework applies in Quebec civil proceedings to determine journalist-source privilege on a case-by-case basis.

The Court also quashed the publication ban, finding it was improperly issued without notice and failed the Dagenais/Mentuck test, as the media was not bound by the parties' confidentiality undertakings.

The parties entered into a corollary relief agreement during their civil divorce, which included a commitment to appear before rabbinical authorities to obtain a Jewish religious divorce (get).

The respondent husband refused to provide the get for 15 years.

The appellant wife sued for damages for breach of contract.

The Supreme Court of Canada held that the agreement was a valid and binding civil obligation under Quebec law.

The Court further held that the husband could not rely on his freedom of religion to avoid paying damages, as the harm caused to the wife and the public interest in enforcing valid contracts and protecting equality rights outweighed any infringement on his religious freedom.

The trial judge's award of $47,500 in damages was restored.