THUNDER BAY — Citing procedural grounds, a judge has dismissed an application from Thunder Bay lawyer Gilbert Labine for an injunction requiring two citizen journalists connected with local social media sites to stop posting references to him online which he considers libellous and defamatory.
Toronto-based Superior Court Justice Frederick Myers ruled after a hearing last week that the issues raised in the application require a proper trial.
Labine's lawyer, Douglas Judson, had already set the wheels in motion for a trial when he filed notice of a lawsuit on June 20 against Pino Demasi and Brian Webster, seeking a total of $30,000 in damages for his client for alleged libel and defamation.
Demasi owns and operates social media platforms under the brand The Real Concerned Citizens of Thunder Bay.
Webster is associated with a social media site that operates under the brand Thunder Bay Courthouse - Inside Edition.
In his ruling, Justice Myers said Labine's application for an injunction, which would be decided on the basis of written affidavits, was not the appropriate way to proceed.
Noting that some key facts are in dispute, he said "a trial is required to resolve heavily contested and fundamentally material facts that will likely require the judge to assess the credibility of numerous witnesses."
The judge said he declined to award court costs to Demasi and Webster "despite their apparent success in this proceeding."
He said "While this process was not properly advanced by Mr. Labine, his concerns are readily understandable and the respondents did little in this proceeding to justify their conduct."
Justice Myers stated that Demasi and Webster should understand that "with freedoms comes much responsibility...social media publishing provides great potential for public benefit. But it carries equal or perhaps even greater risks of harm to people targeted and to society at large - especially if racist mobs are unleashed...I make no findings on the merits in this decision. However, the respondents are the cause of the issues in this proceeding and the serious allegations against them remain outstanding."
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
