2012 November 7

122164 Canada Ltd. (c.o.b. New York Fries) v C.M.Takacs Holdings Corp., 2012 ONSC 6338

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice awarded the corporate plaintiff $425,000 general damages and $75,000 punitive damages against the corporate defendant, a terminated ex-franchisee, and against the individual defendants (husband and wife) in relation to a campaign of defamatory statements made to “a broad and varied audience that was carefully selected to maximize the harm to New York Fries’ reputation.”

The statements held to be defamatory were made in emails, a complaint to police, a letter and to a reporter for the Financial Times (who republished them in an article). The defamatory statements falsely alleged that the plaintiff had breached its franchise agreements with the defendants and other franchisees, unlawful terminated the defendants’ franchises and was guilty of other misconduct including breaches of federal, provincial and municipal legislation.