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ARTICLE · 11 JUNE 2025

Developer Hit With $25,000 Damages Award On Anti-SLAPP Motion (Sheridan Retail Inc. V. Roy)

Gardiner Roberts LLP
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The anti-SLAPP provisions of the Courts of Justice Act ("CJA") are powerful. If a motion succeeds in dismissing a plaintiff's action on the basis that the action was merely meant to gag the free expression...

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Stephen Thiele
Stephen Thiele
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The anti-SLAPP provisions of the Courts of Justice Act ("CJA") are powerful. If a motion succeeds in dismissing a plaintiff's action on the basis that the action was merely meant to gag the free expression of a defendant on a matter of public interest, the court is presumptively directed to award the defendant full indemnity costs. In addition, the provisions permit the court to award damages against the unsuccessful plaintiff.

In Sheridan Retail Inc. v. Roy, 2025 ONSC 2866, the court utilized its powers under the CJA's anti-SLAPP provisions to award the 24-year-old defendant, who was a university student, full indemnity costs and $25,000 in damages on a successful anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss a $300,000 action that was brought against him by the plaintiff developer.

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