Merrifield v. The Attorney General

JurisdictionOntario
CourtSuperior Court of Justice of Ontario (Canada)
JudgeVallee
Citation2017 ONSC 1333
Date28 February 2017
Docket NumberCV-13-00333733-00OT

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22 practice notes
  • "That Is Not How the Common Law Works": Paths to Tort Liability for Harassment.
    • Canada
    • Ottawa Law Review Vol. 52 No. 1, January 2021
    • January 1, 2021
    ...injury and its impact on one's life (especially at para 23) are of general application. (4) Merrifield v Attorney General (Canada), 2017 ONSC 1333 at paras 718, 807, 848 [Merrifield (5) See Merrifield, supra note 1 at paras 56-104. (6) Although the Supreme Court did this on more than one oc......
  • Tort Law and the Employment Relationship
    • Canada
    • Working with the Law Collection Employment Law for Paralegals, 2nd Edition
    • May 12, 2022
    ...emotional distress. Mr. Merriield claims damages for harassment, intentional 9 [1997] 3 SCR 701, 1997 CanLII 332 . 10 2008 SCC 39 . 11 2017 ONSC 1333 . CHAPTER 6 TORT LAW AND THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP 179 © 2022 Emond Montgomery Publications. All Rights Reserved. inliction of mental suffe......
  • ES v Shillington, 2021 ABQB 739
    • Canada
    • Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta (Canada)
    • September 16, 2021
    ...and that no foreign judicial authority to support the recognition of that new tort had been cited (Merrifield v Canada (Attorney General) 2017 ONSC 1333 and Merrifield v. Canada (Attorney General) 2019 ONCA 205).  [38]        In Caplan the court held ......
  • Capital Solar Power Corporation v. The Ontario Power Authority
    • Canada
    • Superior Court of Justice of Ontario (Canada)
    • February 25, 2019
    ...Bank of England (No. 3), [2000] 2 W.L.R. 1220 (U.K. H.L.) cited in Odhavji, at para. 21. [107] Merrifield v. Canada (Attorney General), 2017 ONSC 1333, 42 C.C.L.T. (4th) 4, at para. 830. [108] Ibid. [109] O’Dwyer, supra note 24 at paras. 46-48. [110] Georgian Glen Developments Ltd. v. Barri......
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11 cases
  • ES v Shillington, 2021 ABQB 739
    • Canada
    • Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta (Canada)
    • September 16, 2021
    ...and that no foreign judicial authority to support the recognition of that new tort had been cited (Merrifield v Canada (Attorney General) 2017 ONSC 1333 and Merrifield v. Canada (Attorney General) 2019 ONCA 205).  [38]        In Caplan the court held ......
  • Capital Solar Power Corporation v. The Ontario Power Authority
    • Canada
    • Superior Court of Justice of Ontario (Canada)
    • February 25, 2019
    ...Bank of England (No. 3), [2000] 2 W.L.R. 1220 (U.K. H.L.) cited in Odhavji, at para. 21. [107] Merrifield v. Canada (Attorney General), 2017 ONSC 1333, 42 C.C.L.T. (4th) 4, at para. 830. [108] Ibid. [109] O’Dwyer, supra note 24 at paras. 46-48. [110] Georgian Glen Developments Ltd. v. Barri......
  • Besler v What the Fungus
    • Canada
    • Supreme Court of British Columbia (Canada)
    • September 17, 2025
    ...that it exists and resolve the matter by finding there was no harassment. One Ontario case, Merrifield v. Canada (Attorney General), 2017 ONSC 1333, has recognized that harassment is a tort in Canada. [52] Without determining the issue, I will proceed on the assumption that the tort of hara......
  • Caplan v. Atas
    • Canada
    • Superior Court of Justice of Ontario (Canada)
    • January 28, 2021
    ...at https://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/research/ILJ/upload/Penza-note-final.pdf. [57] Ibid. [58] Merrifield v. Canada (Attorney General), 2017 ONSC 1333. [59] Merrifield v. Canada (Attorney General), 2019 ONCA [60] Ibid, at para. 40 [61] See, for example, Stinson J.’s decision in Doe 464533 v......
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10 firm's commentaries
  • Liability For The Tort Of Intentional Infliction Of Mental Suffering
    • Canada
    • Mondaq Canada
    • January 29, 2019
    ...was vicariously liable for the $100,000 tort award against Mr. Pinnock. More recently, in Merrifield v Canada (Attorney General), 2017 ONSC 1333, the Court awarded $100,000 in general damages for the tort of intentional infliction of mental suffering as against the employer (the RCMP) and t......
  • What Can The Law Do About ‘Deepfake'?
    • Canada
    • Mondaq Canada
    • March 29, 2018
    ...offence that is unrelated to the employment or to the intended employment of that person. [11] Merrifield v The Attorney General, 2017 ONSC 1333. [12] Section 230. This section is currently in the process of being amended pursuant to the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act though the amendmen......
  • Broader Workplace Harassment Claims: Is Canada Becoming More Litigious?
    • Canada
    • Mondaq Canada
    • August 18, 2017
    ...not usually sue an employer for harassment that was unrelated to another legal right or protection. In Merrifield v Attorney General (2017 ONSC 1333) the Ontario Superior Court of Justice introduced a new, freestanding basis to sue for workplace harassment. Employers should take Merrifield ......
  • A Crack In The Dam? Merrifield V. Attorney General (Ont.) And The Undead Tort Of Harassment
    • Canada
    • Mondaq Canada
    • October 27, 2017
    ...there was no generally recognized common law "tort" of harassment. In February 2017, the case of Merrifield v. Attorney General (Ont.), 2017 ONSC 1333 breathed a controversial sliver of life into the concept of a common law tort of harassment. Although the case presents a high likelihood of......
  • Get Started for Free
2 books & journal articles
  • "That Is Not How the Common Law Works": Paths to Tort Liability for Harassment.
    • Canada
    • Ottawa Law Review Vol. 52 No. 1, January 2021
    • January 1, 2021
    ...injury and its impact on one's life (especially at para 23) are of general application. (4) Merrifield v Attorney General (Canada), 2017 ONSC 1333 at paras 718, 807, 848 [Merrifield (5) See Merrifield, supra note 1 at paras 56-104. (6) Although the Supreme Court did this on more than one oc......
  • Tort Law and the Employment Relationship
    • Canada
    • Working with the Law Collection Employment Law for Paralegals, 2nd Edition
    • May 12, 2022
    ...emotional distress. Mr. Merriield claims damages for harassment, intentional 9 [1997] 3 SCR 701, 1997 CanLII 332 . 10 2008 SCC 39 . 11 2017 ONSC 1333 . CHAPTER 6 TORT LAW AND THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP 179 © 2022 Emond Montgomery Publications. All Rights Reserved. inliction of mental suffe......