Defamation on a par 3: Golf, juvenile prostitution and the right to the freedom of press

DEFAMATIONONAPAR3:GOLF,JUVENILEPROSTITUTION
ANDTHERIGHT
TOTHEFREEDOMOFPRESS

LAURENTCARRIÈREANDJASONMOSCOVICI*
LEGERROBICRICHARD,
LLP
L
AWYERS,ANDPATENTANDTRADE-MARKAGENTS

PRECIS:TheSuperiorCourtofQuébecdismissedPlaintiffsmotionclaiming
damagesfordefamationwithregardstoseveralnewsstoriespreparedand
broadcastbyDefendants.
InthematterofDemersv.Jobin[2009QCCS1679(CANLII)],broughtforward
beforetheSuperiorCourtofQuebec,PlaintiffssuedDefendantsfor$950,000,
claimingmoralandexemplarydamagesinrelationtodefamatory,maliciousand
hurtfulstatementsthattheyallegeweremadebyDefendantsduringthebroadcast
ofcertainnewsreportswithregardstoPlaintiff’sinvolvementin(andsponsorshipof)
aneroticgolftournamenthavingjuvenileprostitutionimplications.

Thefactsareasfollows:
PlaintiffsrunandoperatearadiostationinQuébecCity,CHOI-FM,thathasbeenin
thelimelightduetothe“shock-rock”anticsadoptedbyboththeonairpersonalities,
aswellasbythegeneralmanagement.Theongoingcomplaintsandcontroversy
surroundingthestationmadeitsuchthattheCanadianRadio-Televisionand
TelecommunicationsCommission(CRTC,aregulatorybodythatgovernsCanadian
broadcastingandtelecommunications)suspendedandrevokedthestation’slicense,
therebyprohibitingitscontentfrombeingbroadcastinCanada.

DefendantsPierreJobin,DenisTherriaultandCarlLangelierarejournalistsfora
televisioncompanyownedandoperatedbyGROUPETVAINC.,whowasalso
namedasaDefendantinthismatterwhichinsertsitselfintoalongsagaoflitigation
betweentheparties:PierreJobinhadpreviouslybroughtactionagainstPlaintiffsin
2004forcommentsmadeonairbytheCHOI-FMteamthatwerefoundtobe
defamatoryandcontrarytohispersonaldignity.PierreJobinwon100000$inmoral
damagesaswellas50000$inpunitivedamages.

©CIPS,2009.*Lawyerandtrade-markagent,LaurentCarrière,isaseniorpartnerwithLEGERROBICRICHARD,
LLP
amultidisciplinaryfirmoflawyers,andpatentandtrade-markagents.JasonMoscoviciisan
articlingstudentwiththefirm.Publishedat[2009-07-04]WorldMediaLawReport.Publication
328.066.

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Here,itwasPlaintiffs’turntoclaimdefamation.TheyallegedthatDefendants,
throughseveralnewsstories,triedtoestablishalinkinabiasedmannerbetween
Plaintiffsandapromotionalgolftournamentthatfeaturedscantilycladwomen
providingeroticservicesfortheirpatrons.
PlaintiffsfurtherclaimedthatDefendantswereatfaultbythemannerinwhichthey
undertookthepreparationandthebroadcastoftheirnewsstories;newsstoriesthat
theybelievealsounfairlyimplicatedthemwithajuvenileprostitutioncontroversythat
befellthesamegolftournament,sincePlaintiffsactivelypromotedandparticipated
inthesportingevent.
DefamationinQuébecisgovernedbythesamerulesthatgovernallformsofcivil
responsibilityundertheCivilCodeofQuébec:fortheretobecompensation,there
mustfirstbeafault,aprejudiceandacausallinkbetweenthetwo;itwasonthisfirst
point,thepresenceoffault,thatSuperiorCourtofQuébecwasabletodenythe
sumsrequestedbyPlaintiffs.
Québeclawrecognizestwoformsofdefamation,onewheresomeone’sreputation
haspurposefullybeenattacked,andtheotherwheretheattackisduetonegligence
orinattentiveness.
FaultinmattersofjournalismanddefamationhasbeenanalyzedbyCanadianand
Québecjurisprudencetoincludeseveralfactors.Inordertodetermineifthereis
fault,itmustbeshownthatthejournalistactedinamannerthatwasunreasonable
comparedtothenormsrecognizedbytheprofession.Suchananalysisis
necessarilyacontextualandfactbasestudythattakesintoaccountthepublic
interestinthestorybeingreported,themethodsandtreatmentsused,andthe
reasonabilityoftheconclusionsdrawnbythereport.Thisanalysisappliesequallyto
thepersonbroadcastingthecontentasitdoestothepersoncreatingit.

Consequently,theCourtfoundthatPlaintiffscouldnotspeakoffaultsincean
analysisofeachofthenewsreportsatissueshowedthatDefendantsactedwithin
therecognizednormsoftheprofession.Thestorieswereofpublicinterest,as
QuébecCityhadseenitsfairshareofjuvenileprostitutionproblems,andtheCourt
wasoftheopinionthatthereportsshowedproofofseriousresearchandwere
deliveredinamannerthatwasobjective,impartialandprofessional.

TheCourtfurtherdeterminedthatthereportsclearlyshowednoexplicitlinkbetween
Plaintiffsandtheeroticactivitieshappeningatthegolftournament.Itwasonlyafter
itwasdiscovered,inasubsequentnewsstory,thatCHOI-FMstickerswerefoundall
overtheboothsusedbythestrippersforprivatedances,thatthelinkbetweenthe
tournamentandPlaintiffswasmade.

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Additionally,Plaintiffswerereproachedfornothavingaddressedtheircomplaint
regardingthejuvenileprostitutioninferencespriortothedefamationsuitthathad
beenlaunchedbyDefendantsin2004.
Sincenofaultwasfound,theCourtdidnotpositionitselfwithregardstothe
damagesbeingclaimed.Instead,theCourtalloweditselftostatethatnotonlydid
Plaintiffsfailtoprovehavingsufferedanydamages,buttheycouldalsonotimpute
theirlossofabroadcastinglicenceontothebacksofathirdparty.Itwasclearthat
thedefamationclaimedbyPlaintiffswasjustaformofreprisalforthesuitthatthey
lostagainstDefendantPierreJobin,whichplaintiffsevenopenlyadmitted.

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