Lawyers writing to third parties for information about their
clients' dispute may need to refer to the nature of the
allegations at issue against adverse parties. The parties who are
the subject of such correspondence may feel that they have grounds
to pursue a claim for defamation based on the nature of the
allegations, particularly if matters have yet to be determined.
Before commencing a claim in that regard, however, the doctrine
of absolute privilege should be considered as the communications
may well be immune from attack, as demonstrated by the motion
decision in Neve v. Adams, 2024 ONSC 6117
(CanLII).
The motion arose in a defamation action between shareholders of
two private corporations. Before the action was commenced, the
defendants' lawyer wrote to the long-standing accountant for
the corporations, stating that her clients were in the process of
commencing a court proceeding against the plaintiff, and intended
to seek various orders against him. The
