The civil litigation system's role in addressing
harassment has been a vexing issue for the past decade.
Traditionally, the availability of other torts, such as intentional
infliction of mental distress and defamation, along with concerns
about “opening the floodgates” to a wave of litigation
had resulted in some hesitation towards the adoption of a novel
tort of “harassment”. This hesitation was cast aside in
the recent Ontario Superior Court decision of Caplan v
Atas, 2021 ONSC 670. (“Caplan“).
In Caplan, Justice Corbett of the Ontario
Superior Court of Justice expressly recognized a new common law
tort of “internet harassment”.1
Facts
The Caplan decision stemmed from four
separate legal claims for defamation against the defendant, Nadire
Atas (“Atas”). The plaintiffs sought summary judgment
against the defendant, alleging defamatory libel, harassment, and
nuisance.
