2018 May 24

Chase v. Anfinson,  2018 BCSC 856

The B.C. Supreme Court awarded the plaintiff $3,500 general damages against a defendant who posted defamatory statements on the “Ripoff Report” website which the Court stated “is apparently dedicated to providing an opportunity for people to publicize when they have been cheated.”  The Court also stated:  “I accept that what is published on the internet must be taken seriously for the purposes of assessing a claim for defamation.  However, in the specific case of the Ripoff Report … the site itself encourages negative content …this feature of the Ripoff Report makes exchanges on that site more prone to hyperbole and venting…”