The plaintiff furniture retailer brought a motion for summary judgment in a defamation action arising from an email circulated by the defendant accusing the business of dishonesty and urging recipients to avoid it.
The defendant raised the defence of fair comment and advanced a counterclaim for slander based on communications made by the plaintiff to her employer and father.
The court held that the email was defamatory and that the defence of fair comment was unavailable because the statements were not on a matter of public interest, were not based on proven facts, and were motivated by malice.
The court concluded that there were no genuine issues requiring a trial and that summary judgment was appropriate.
Judgment was granted for the plaintiff with damages fixed at $15,000 and the defendant’s counterclaim dismissed.