Doyle v. International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local 1681 and Eaton, (1991) 110 A.R. 222 (QB)

• Judge: O'Leary, J.
• Court: Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta (Canada)
• Case Date: January 04, 1991
• Jurisdiction: Alberta
• Citations: (1991), 110 A.R. 222 (QB)

Doyle v. IAM (1991), 110 A.R. 222 (QB)

MLB headnote and full text

Martin Doyle (plaintiff) v. International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local 1681 and Tim Eaton (defendants)

(Action No. 8701-10165)

Indexed As: Doyle v. International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local 1681 and Eaton

Alberta Court of Queen's Bench

Judicial District of Calgary

O'Leary, J.

January 4, 1991.

Summary:

The plaintiff brought a defamation action for damages against the defendant union local and the editor of its periodic newsletter.

The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench allowed the action and awarded the plaintiff $15,000.00 general damages.

Damage Awards - Topic 632

Torts - Libel and slander - Doyle was hired as a "scab" worker during a strike and rehired after the strike ended - Union newsletters defamed Doyle by imputing that he was dishonest, a liar, incompetent, a thief and a mean, contemptible person - The defamation contributed to Doyle's hypertension and other physical, psychological and emotional problems - Although the extent of the publication was not excessive (300 copies), there was no apology and it was a deliberate, malicious campaign to discredit Doyle - The defamation damaged Doyle's reputation, but not among a large number of persons - The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench awarded Doyle $15,000.00 general damages, but refused to award punitive damages - See paragraphs 68 to 74.

Damages - Topic 1308

Exemplary or punitive damages - Libel and slander - [See Damage Awards - Topic 632].

Libel and Slander - Topic 644

The statement - Defamatory statements - What constitute - Disparagement of reputation - The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench stated that "it is not sufficient to prove that the plaintiff's reputation was injured in the eyes of only a limited class of people. The words must tend to affect his reputation to the estimation of reasonable and ordinary people generally" - See paragraph 29.

Libel and Slander - Topic 648

The statement - Defamatory statements - What constitute - Determination of meaning of words used - The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench stated that "in determining whether words are defamatory they are to be construed in their natural and ordinary meaning, the meaning which a reasonable person of ordinary intelligence and experience would attribute to them at the time and in the community in which they were published. The natural meaning is not necessarily the literal meaning of the words but, rather, the meaning which they would convey to those to whom they were published" - See paragraph 29.

Libel and Slander - Topic 652

The statement - Defamatory statements - What constitute - Test for - The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench stated that "a defamatory statement is a false statement about a person to his discredit, or which tends to lower him in the estimation of others, or to expose him to hatred, contempt or ridicule, or to injure his reputation in his office, trade or profession, or to injure his financial credit" - See paragraph 29.

Libel and Slander - Topic 684

The statement - Defamatory statements - Libel - What constitutes - Doyle was temporarily employed by an airline while its unionized maintenance personnel were on strike - His employment stopped when the strike ended, but he was later rehired - The union local published a periodic newsletter, printing 300 copies for union members, other trade unions, etc. - Various articles characterized Doyle as a "scab" and imputed that he was dishonest, a liar, incompetent in his trade, a thief and a mean, contemptible person - The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench held that the articles were defamatory - See paragraphs 1 to 43.

Libel and Slander - Topic 2861

Defences - Justification or truth - General - Doyle was defamed by articles labelling him, among other things, a "scab" after he was temporarily employed to replace striking union workers - The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench stated that the defence of justification or truth applied, because Doyle was in fact a "scab" within the recognized meaning of that word - See paragraphs 45 and 46.

Libel and Slander - Topic 2983

Defences - Qualified privilege - When available - The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench referred to four main situations where qualified privilege has been recognized - See paragraph 54.

Libel and Slander - Topic 2988

Defences - Qualified privilege - Loss of - Lack of honest belief or existence of malice - A union newsletter was intended to provide a vehicle for communication between the union executive and its members - Several articles defamed a worker (nonunion member) who was a "scab" during a recent strike - The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench stated that the publication of the defamatory articles was protected by qualified privilege, where published to keep the membership advised of matters of mutual concern - However, the union could not rely on the defence where the statements were made maliciously - See paragraphs 52 and 64.

Libel and Slander - Topic 4007

Malice - What constitutes - A union newsletter defamed a worker (nonunion member) who was a "scab" during a recent strike - The purpose of the statements was not to communicate information to union members, but to promote and encourage harassment and intimidation of the worker - The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench stated that the statements were made maliciously as part of a conscious and deliberate campaign to discredit the worker and to punish him in the name of vengeance - See paragraphs 57 to 64.

Libel and Slander - Topic 4061

Malice - Bar to defence of fair comment or qualified privilege - General - The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench stated that the publisher of defamatory words could not rely on the defence of fair comment or qualified privilege where the statements were made maliciously - See paragraph 65.

Libel and Slander - Topic 4423

Damages - General damages - Measure of - Considerations - [See Damage Awards - Topic 632].

Libel and Slander - Topic 4429

Damages - General damages - Measure of - Exemplary damages - When available - [See Damage Awards - Topic 632].

Cases Noticed:

Paletta and Palmont Packers Ltd. v. Lethbridge Herald Co. Ltd. et al. (1976), 2 A.R. 529; 4 Alta. L.R.(2d) 97, refd to. [para. 29].

Authors and Works Noticed:

Black's Law Dictionary (5th Ed.) [para. 30].

Brown, The Law of Defamation in Canada, pp. 545 [para. 55]; 729 [para. 57].

Concise Oxford Dictionary (7th Ed.) [para. 30].

Linden, Canadian Tort Law (3rd Ed.), pp. 703, 704 [para. 54].

Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary (Cdn. Ed.) [para. 30].

Counsel:

E.P. Groody and M.L. Sigurdson, for the plaintiff;

C.R. McCreary, for the defendants.

This action was heard before O'Leary, J., of the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench, Judicial District of Calgary, who delivered the following judgment on January 4, 1991.