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ARTICLE · 13 MARCH 2020

Ontario Superior Court Recognizes New "False Light" Privacy Tort

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In the recent family law decision Yenovkian v. Gulian, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice recognized a new invasion of privacy tort: "publicity which places the plaintiff in a false light in the public eye."

CanadaPrivacy
Elizabeth Creelman
Elizabeth Creelman
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In the recent family law decision Yenovkian v. Gulian,1 the Ontario Superior Court of Justice recognized a new invasion of privacy tort: "publicity which places the plaintiff in a false light in the public eye." Although the scope of the new tort is not yet well-defined, the decision could have implications reaching outside the family law context, into employment law and beyond.

Facts

Yenovkian v. Gulian was a family law case involving a father who cyberbullied his ex-spouse, his children, his ex-spouse's lawyer, and a judge. The cyberbullying campaign included websites, YouTube videos, online petitions, and emails with false accusations and misleading portrayals of the individuals in a negative light. The father also made several unsubstantiated accusations against his ex-spouse and her family to various authorities in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.

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