New Tort Of Harassment In Internet Communications

Bottom Line

In a recent decision, the Superior Court of Justice for Ontario recognized a new tort: harassment in internet communications. While the Court of Appeal for Ontario previously held in Merrifield v Canada (Attorney General) that an independent tort of harassment was not recognized in the province, in this most recent case the court identified that, absent such a cause of action, the civil remedies at its disposal were insufficient to address the defendant's harassing and abusive behaviour.

Malicious Campaigns of Online Harassment

The defendant, Nadire Atas, carried out "campaigns of malicious harassment and defamation" through the internet spanning over many years. Atas' behaviour arose from four sets of grievances. The first three sets of grievances all concerned underlying litigation over mortgage enforcement proceedings brought against the defendant. The fourth set of grievances originated from Atas' dismissal from her employment in the