2018 October 4

Cicalese v. Saipem Canada Inc., 2018 ABQB 835

The Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench awarded the plaintiff, a former employee of the defendant Saipem Canada Inc., general damages of $50,000 for defamation against the defendant (parent company) Saipem SpA.  The defamatory expression was contained in a press release issued by the parent company which was republished in an industry publication and on the website of the Wall Street Journal.  Although the Court found that some readers would know the plaintiff was the subject of the defamatory statements, the fact he was not expressly named had an impact on the damages award.  “I limit the damages somewhat due to the uncertainty around how many would have been aware that the issues raised in this article were about him.”