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Weaver v. Corcoran and Others

Country/Territory
Canada
Date
Feb 1, 2012
Source
UNEP, InforMEA
Court name
Supreme Court
Seat of court
British Columbia
Reference number
2015 BCSC 165
Abstract
Professor Andrew Weaver, a renowned Canadian climate scientist, filed suit against the National Post, its publisher, and several journalists for defamation. Dr. Weaver’s claims arose out of the defendants’ publication of statements that allegedly injured Dr. Weaver’s reputation as a climate scientist in the context of the “Climategate” controversy. Plaintiff Weaver sought an injunction requiring the newspaper to remove the allegedly false statements from its website and from any sites where the statements were reposted. The Supreme Court of British Columbia found that the defendants had defamed Dr. Weaver and that their statements were not protected by the defense of fair comment because the facts upon which they relied were false. The Court awarded Dr. Weaver $50,000 in general damages, and directed the defendants to remove the offending articles, require third parties to cease republication, and publish a retraction.

Key environmental legal questions:

Injunction against newspaper for publishing false, malicious, defamatory words
Full text
Canada-Weaver-2015-BCSC-165.pdf
Website
climatecasechart.com