Court Issues Injunction To Stop Online Harassment And Intimidation Pending Trial

Online harassment has become a major issue in Canadian society and has resulted in the burgeoning tort of "internet harassment" specifically designed to address such conduct. Recently, a Toronto motion judge noted that over the span of ten days, the court dealt with four civil cases in which relief was sought due to online harassment. While a successful tort claim may eventually provide some relief to a plaintiff suffering from internet harassment, civil proceedings are notoriously slow-moving and the pandemic has exacerbated delays in obtaining trial dates. A plaintiff may need to obtain an interim order to stop online harassment from continuing before trial.

The decision of 385277 Ontario Ltd. v Gold, 2021 ONSC 4717 (CanLII) demonstrates that an interim injunction may be available in certain circumstances to stop a defendant from carrying on internet harassment, particularly when the purpose of such conduct is the intimidation of an opposing litigant.