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Condo Lawsuit Against Email Provider

Condominium and Housing Law

Anonymous Defamatory E-Mails about Condo Board Members Results in Successful Lawsuit against E-mail Provider

A condominium corporation attained a court order requiring Yahoo! Inc. and Yahoo! Canada Inc. to help them identify the author of derogatory e-mails sent to unit owners and occupants.

The resignation of the condominium superintendent caused an unhappy unit owner to send an email to all occupants alleging that the board members ignored unacceptable behaviour done by the contractor towards the superintendent. The unit owner continued accusing the board members of receiving kickbacks from the contractor. The email was sent anonymously using the username “Ian Fleming” on Yahoo’s email client.

The Superior Court of Justice granted the condominium’s order based on these conditions:

1. The condominium corporation demonstrated clear evidence to support a claim for defamation as the author of the emails used words that had the potential of being defamatory against the board members.
2. Yahoo had its part in the wrongful acts, as the author of the emails would not have been able to send the emails without Yahoo’s email services.
3. Yahoo was the only entity that held the necessary information.
4. The costs to comply with the court order were minimal.
5. To ensure that justice was served, the disclosure was essential.

When owners disagree with decisions or actions taken by the board, sending defamatory emails is not the way to deal with it.

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