Court rules in favor of Pro-Life Group, allowing lawsuit against online activist to proceed

A pro-life group has received approval from the Ontario Court of Appeal to initiate a civil lawsuit against an online activist who allegedly posted videos containing staff contact information and encouraged her followers to disrupt the group’s activities.

The activist, Brooke Dietrich, was sued by the group 40 Days for Life for various reasons, including defamation, internet harassment, fraud, breach of contract, inducing breach of contract, and civil conspiracy, based on TikTok videos she posted in 2021.

In 2022, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice granted permission for 40 Days to proceed with the lawsuit, despite Dietrich’s appeal.

The court heard that Dietrich posted 14 videos in October 2021 encouraging actions that would disrupt 40 Days for Life’s operations, including sharing contact information for its employees and making negative remarks about the group in various videos.

In addition, the overview of the court decision noted that Dietrich urged people to abandon shopping carts on the group’s website to disrupt their activities.

Following these actions, 40 Days obtained an injunction against Dietrich to prevent false sign-ups, electronic harassment, sabotage, and interference with its activities.

The courts determined that Dietrich’s actions were in the public interest, that the claims of 40 Days had validity, and that the harm caused to the group outweighed the protection of free expression.

Dietrich attempted to defend herself using truth and fair comment, but the courts raised concerns about the validity of those defenses, suggesting that Dietrich may have acted in a malicious or reckless manner.