Re: [Paddlewise] newsgroups happenings

ralph diaz wrote:

> ... Tim ... sponsons...repeatedly sends to the newsgroups...murder in the
> second degree...baby killer...suicide pact....Anyone know of anything
> practical that can be done?

Hi Ralph and any of you other poor dogs being tormented by Tim:

Sorry, but there is not too much you can do about Tim libelling you unless you
are willing to pay your way through the court process.  Your best bet is to
apply for an injunction, but here are all the options (short of taking the
fellow for a heavy weather paddle).

Defamatory libel has a criminal penalty of up to five years, and Tim could be
convicted for it, but the Law Reform Commission has recommend that it be removed
from the books, so you would be extremely hard pressed to find a crown
prosecutor to take it on.  When it has been successfully prosecuted, it has
usually been in cases with more of a public policy aspect, such as denigration
of a judge.  You could mount a private prosecution either through an attorney
(though finding one would be extremely difficult) or on your own, but for the
most part judges are not too thrilled about private prosecutions.

A peace bond would not be possible, for a peace bond can only be ordered if
there is a theat of personal injury or property damage.

A full blown civil libel action either on your own or in conjunction with the
other harmed parties is certainly possible.  Just line up a stack of libellous
posts, prove that they originated with Tim, and you’re off to the races.  You
would have to establish that the posts were defamatory, that they  referred
specifically to you, and that Tim had published them (the internet counts).  The
only hitch is that it would have to drag through High Court, which would take a
fair chunk of change.  In Canada the loser usually pays for part or all off the
winner’s legal costs, more so if the loser mounted a stupid defence (knowing
Tim, he might take a shot at justification, which would force you to haul in
expert witnesses), but this is not something you should bank on.  Since Tim is
not a wealthy fellow, you might win but not be able to recover much if
anything.  As far as a damage award goes, it would be spin the wheel of justice
time – the jury could award pretty much whatever it whished.  Tim’s ongoing
conduct would be an aggravating factor, but at the same time his obviously being
a nut whom very few would take seriously would be a mitigating factor.  In
short, don’t expect a big award.  Obviously in addition to a monetary award,
large or small, you would have a very good chance at obtaining an injunction
against further denigration.  If you do decide to go after Tim for civil libel,
be sure to send Tim a registered letter demanding a retraction of his statements
prior to putting much work in the case, for if he did retract forthwith, you
would not get damages.   Finally, with defamation actions, you have some pretty
tight limitation periods.  I don’t remember them off hand, and I don't recall
which limitations would apply in Tim's matter, but I recall that the matter has
to be pretty fresh (e.g. if a newspaper of broadcaster is the defendant, a
letter demanding retraction must be fired off within six weeks and the action
must begin within three months).

You could make an application for an injunction prohibiting Tim from denigrating
you.  This is the path I recommend.  Similar to a full blown libel action, you
would have to prove the libel, but since an application is usually heard on
written affidavits rather than through oral testimony, you would pretty much
have to demonstrate that Tim had no viable defence.  If Tim jumped up and down
enough, the court would probably order it to go to trial as if it were an
action.  I’d recommend trying to squeeze through on only an application given
that the case against Tim is so one sided, but be prepared for the long haul.
The nice thing about an application is that if it does not get ordered to trial,
it is not ruinously expensive.  The nice thing about an injunction is that each
time Tim falls back into his wicked ways (and you know he will because he is a
nut), you can have him hauled up for contempt of court and fined (or possibly
tossed in the can, though in reality this would be highly unlikely), rather than
have to start out all over again with a fresh action or application.  Since most
injunctions are time limited, you may have to start fresh every few years, but
each time it would get easier.  Of all the different approaches, an application
for an injunction is what I recommend, and although it is not possible to assure
success, I believe that there is a very high probability that you would succeed
in wining an injunction.

I don’t know many lawyers down at Tim’s end of the province (he was in
Penetanguishine at the base of Georgian Bay, but he may have moved for all I
know), and I am a two day drive at the other end of the province (in Thunder Bay
at the top of Superior – divine paddling country), so I can’t really help you.
I can think of one paddling lawyer down Tim's way who would probably take on the
case just to piss off Tim, but even at a heavily discounted fee, it might still
cost you a small fortune (he’s one of the big boys in Toronto with an
astronomical hourly rate).   If you or you and the other libelled parties want
to go for an application for an injunction and are willing to pay your way
though, drop me an e-mail and I will recommend your matter to him.  I can’t make
any promises, though.

Richard Culpeper
culpeper_at_tbaytel.net

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