Newspapers once again find themselves on the losing side of libel suits. On July 13, 2010, in Flood v. Times Newspaper Ltd. [2010] EWCA Civ 804 (“Flood”), the England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division) (“EWCA”) overturned the trial decision and held that a newspaper was unable to claim qualified privilege for online reporting [...]

On April 7, 2010 the Ontario Court of Appeal (“OCA”) revisited the “thin skull” principle in Frazer v. Dr. Haukioja, 2010 ONCA 249 (“Haukioja”).  The court decided issues related to medical professionalism after Grant Frazer took a vicious spill on his motorcycle and broke his ankle.  The following action against his physician, Dr. Haukioja, resulted [...]

Limits of journalistic press freedom for qualified-privilege and fair comment are hotly debated in jurisdictions around the world as courts try to balance the public interest in freedom of information with private reputational interests battling defamation. Last year, TheCourt covered Grant v. Torstar Corp., 2009 SCC 61 (“Torstar Corp.”), a decision that ranked as the top [...]

On February 2 the Ontario Court of Appeal rendered its decision in Leering v. College of Chiropractors of Ontario, 2010 ONCA 87, a professional ethics/discipline case concerning the stiff prohibition on sexual relations between medical professionals and their patients. In December 2004, the appellant Vincent Leering, a chiropractor, commenced an intimate relationship with a woman. [...]