The appellant, a university student, submitted a term paper with an unfootnoted appendix containing a first-person account of child abuse.
Her professor suspected the account was autobiographical and reported it to the Director of the School of Social Work, who forwarded the report to Child Protection Services without seeking an explanation from the student.
The student was placed on the Child Abuse Registry, destroying her career prospects.
A jury found the university and professors negligent and awarded $839,400 in damages.
The Court of Appeal set aside the award, finding the action barred by the Child Welfare Act.
The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal and restored the jury's verdict, holding that the professors lacked reasonable cause to make the report and thus were not protected by the statute.
