The defendant, Stacey Newman, brought a motion under s. 137.1 of the Courts of Justice Act (anti-SLAPP legislation) to dismiss a defamation and malicious prosecution action brought by the plaintiffs, Azim Rizvee and Rabiya Azim.
The court found that Newman's public statements regarding Rizvee's political candidacy and campaign conduct related to a matter of public interest, satisfying the initial burden for the anti-SLAPP motion on the defamation claim.
However, the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate that Newman had no valid defence (specifically, fair comment and limitations period) and provided insufficient evidence of serious harm to their reputation.
Consequently, the defamation claim was dismissed.
Conversely, the malicious prosecution claim, arising from Newman's private peace bond application against Rizvee, was deemed not to relate to a matter of public interest, and thus the anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss it was denied.
