Defamatory Meaning

• Author: Roger McConchie; David Potts
• Profession: Member of the Bars of British Columbia and Alberta/Member of the Bar of Ontario
• Pages: 289-298

CHAPTER

FIFTEEN:

Defamatory

Meaning

A. A

GENERAL DEFINITION

Expression which tends

to

lower

a

person's reputation

in the

estimation

of

ordinary, reasonable members

of

society generally,

or to

expose

a

person

to

hatred, contempt,

or

ridicule,

is

defamatory.

Cherneskey

v.

Armadale

Publishers

Ltd., [1979]

1

S.C.R. 1067

at

1079.

Expression which would cause

a

plaintiff

to be

shunned

or

avoided

is

also

defamatory.

The

weight

of

authority appears

to

favour

the

view that such

allegations

are

defamatory even

if

there

is no

implication that

the

plaintiff

deserves blame

for his or her

condition.

Halls

v.

Mitchell

(1926),

59

O.L.R.

590

(C.A.).

Galley

on

Libel

and

Slander,

9th

ed., Patrick

Milmo

&

WVH.

Rogers, eds.

(London: Sweet

&

Maxwell, 1998)

at

22-23.

Youssoupoffv. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1934), 50 T.L.R. 581 (U.K.C.A.).

Peters-Brown

v.

Regina

District

Health

Board,

[1996]

1

WWR.

337

(Sask.

Q.B.),

aff'd

(1996),

148

Sask.

R. 248

(C.A.).

But

see

Serdar

v.

Metroland

Printing,

Publishing

and

Distributing

Ltd.,

[2001]

OJ.

No.

1596

(S.C.J.).

B.

THE

"STING"

OF

DEFAMATORY EXPRESSION

The

case

authorities

often

refer

to the

"sting"

or

"bite"

or

"gist"

of the

defam-

atory meaning

of the

expression.

At the

outset

of a

defamation complaint,

a

plaintiff

or

defendant

who is

uncertain

whether

the

expression

conveys par-

ticular

stings

may

find

it

helpful

to

consult friends

and

acquaintances.

In

289