New Tort - Publicly Placing Under False Light
This recent case from the Ontario Superior Court expanded upon the tort of invasion of privacy to adopt American law and create the new tort of publicly placing a person under a false light.
In this case, the Father had videotaped the children, without their knowledge, during supervised access. The Father then posted that video to websites and started a public campaign against the Mother and her family - claiming the autistic daughter had declined under her care, and otherwise disparaging the children, among other things. The Judge found this violated the new tort.
Public disclosure of private facts has been recognized as a second form of invasion of privacy since Jones v Tsige, 2012 ONCA 32, 108 OR (3d) 241.
In so describing the elements of the tort, the Court followed the American Restatement, with a subtle but important modification. It need not be the matter itself that is highly offensive to a reasonable person.
As a result, $50,000 in damages were awarded against the Father for intentional infliction of mental suffering, $100,000 for invasion of privacy, and $150,000 in punitive damages.