2015 March 6

Goldhar v. Haaretz.com, 2015 ONSC 1128

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed an application by the defendant Israeli newspaper for an order setting aside service ex juris of the Ontario statement of claim, or staying the action on the basis the Ontario court lacks jurisdiction, or alternatively, an order that the court is not a convenient forum, or alternatively, that the action is an abuse of process. The plaintiff, a Toronto billionaire, complained about an article published in the online edition of the defendant newspaper in November, 2011, which was read by at least several people in Ontario and 200-300 people in Canada. The Court stated: “The plaintiff has undertaken not to seek at the trial of this action to recover damages for reputational harm in Israel or anywhere else outside of Canada. In Breeden v Black, the Supreme Court of Canada found that a similar damages undertaking given by Lord Black was a significant factor in the analysis of “most substantial harm to reputation.” In my view, the damages undertaking provided by the plaintiff is a very significant factor which, in light of the other evidence …., leads to the conclusion that the most substantial harm to the plaintiff’s reputation is in Ontario.“