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ARTICLE · 08 JUNE 2021

Summary Judgment Denied Over Defamatory TV Show First Aired In Pakistan

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Ontario's Rules of Civil Procedure provide that where there is no genuine issue requiring a trial, summary judgment shall be granted. It has been determined by Ontario courts that this rule...

GlobalLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Stephen Thiele
Stephen Thiele
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Ontario's Rules of Civil Procedure provide that where there is no genuine issue requiring a trial, summary judgment shall be granted. It has been determined by Ontario courts that this rule is available in defamation actions: see Zhong v. Wu, 2019 ONC 7088 at para. 13 and Zoutman v. Graham, 2019 ONSC 2834 at para. 59.

However, simply because the rule is available does not of course mean that a court will grant summary judgment whenever sought in a defamation case. In the recent case of Vivo Canadian Inc. v. Geo TV, 2021 ONSC 3402, the court found that the plaintiffs' defamation action raised genuine issues requiring a trial, and therefore the defendant's motion for summary judgment was dismissed.

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