The defendants in a defamation action sought leave to amend their statement of defence to plead limitation defences under sections 5 and 6 of the Libel and Slander Act.
The plaintiff opposed the motion, arguing that the amendment would cause actual prejudice due to the passage of time, changes to computer systems, and the unavailability of website snapshots from the date of publication.
The court granted the motion, finding that any evidentiary difficulties would prejudice the defendants rather than the plaintiff, and that the proposed defences were tenable at law.
The amendment was granted on the condition that the defendants pay the plaintiff's costs thrown away.
