POLS 3130 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Malicious Prosecution, Lake Simcoe, Police Misconduct
12 Apr 2017
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Document Summary
Slapps: strategic litigation against public policy, came about in late 1970"s early 80"s. American public interest law: involve lawsuits which have the intention of silencing another policy proposal. Contacting a public official and making complaints. Where is nuisance for press? invasion of privacy. Malicious prosecution/ abuse of process remedies: damages slapp cases see ridiculous claims for damages. Canada between 5- 10 million is not unusual. Damages are supposed to represent the damage already caused. He brings up an example from guelph where a development was a threat to salamanders: so the city sued for 10 million in prospective damages, because nothing has happened, you can"t seek prospective damages. Can be seen in settlements or earlier decisions to avoid cases dragging on through the courts. Objective of slapp lawsuits: many cases never see a judicial decision. Those that do are lost 80% of the time by plaintiffs. For plaintiffs though generally winning is not the issue.
