2016 December 16

Veenhof v. Cineplex Corp., 2016 ONSC 7929

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed an application by the defendant for an interlocutory injunction to prohibit the plaintiff from picketing at any Cineplex movie theatre in Ontario and from publishing defamatory statements on social media networks, in printed literature or common consumer products. The Court noted that the defendant’s statement of defence did not include a counterclaim for a permanent injunction. The Court held that it is fundamental that the remedy of an interlocutory (pre-trial) injunction cannot be obtained in the absence of a pending or intended proceeding in which a permanent injunction is claimed. Further, the Court held that the defendant would be required to meet the evidentiary test for an interlocutory injunction, which the Court identified as the standard test for pre-trial injunctive relief described in RJR-MacDonald Inc. v Canada (Attorney General), [1994] 1 S.C.R. 311.  The test has three elements that must be proven by the plaintiff: 1) serious question to be tried; 2) irreparable harm; and 3) balance of convenience. [Note: It is submitted that RJR-MacDonald is the wrong test for interlocutory injunctive relief to restrain defamatory expression).