Early in 2016, we reported on a case in which the Ontario Superior Court articulated a new private tort: “public disclosure of embarrassing private facts.” The plaintiff in that case had been coaxed by a former boyfriend (the defendant) to send him a sexually explicit video of herself. Despite promising the plaintiff confidentiality, the defendant…
Tag: Privacy Tort
Court Recognizes New Privacy Tort: “Public Disclosure of Embarrassing Private Facts”
In a case that can only add to the risk of privacy claims faced by organizations, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently awarded damages based on the new tort of “public disclosure of embarrassing private facts.” In Doe 464533 v N.D., the Court awarded damages to a plaintiff whose former boyfriend coaxed her to…
Ontario Court Issues Significant and Conservative Decision on Scope of Privacy Tort
On August 31st, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice issued a significant decision on the scope of the common law privacy tort – both declining to recognize a cause of action based on “public disclosure of private facts” and…
Reaching Out – First Edition
Dear Friends, The Social Service Sector Practice Group is pleased to introduce its first FTR Now edition of Reaching Out. Reaching Out is our Social Service Update designed to provide you with legal updates on new and developing cases, trends and topics that are relevant to your sector and which provide you with information and…
Dan Michaluk Quoted in Canadian Lawyer Magazine
Hicks Morley’s Dan Michaluk was quoted in the April edition of Canadian Lawyer Magazine in an article entitled “Intrusion upon seclusion: what’s justifiable?“. In the article, Dan discusses the issues for employers to consider in collecting information about employees inside and outside of the workplace. View Article
How the New Privacy Tort Will Affect Employers
On January 18th, 2012, the Court of Appeal for Ontario recognized a new “intrusion upon seclusion” civil cause of action. In this FTR Now, we describe the new cause of action (or “tort”) and identify its significance to employers. THE INTRUSION UPON SECLUSION TORT Under Ontario law it is now clear that individuals can sue…
Ten Questions and Answers about Computer Use Policies
It’s January 2012. Last year the Court of Appeal for Ontario recognized that an employee had a reasonable expectation of privacy that arose out of his personal use of a work computer. As discussed in a companion FTR Now called How the New Privacy Tort Will Affect Employers, this month the Court of Appeal recognized…