Court of Appeal of Yukon
COURT OF APPEAL OF YUKON Citation: Senft v. Vigneau, 2020 YKCA 8 Date: 20200327 Docket: 18-YU840 Between: Angela R. Senft and Michael E. Senft Respondents (Plaintiffs) And Audrey Vigneau and Susan Herrmann Appellants (Defendants) Corrected Judgment: The text of the judgment was corrected on the cover page and at paragraphs 40, 45, 46, 54, 57, 61, 68, 91, 96, and 105 on April 2, 2020. Before: The Honourable Madam Justice D. Smith The Honourable Mr. Justice Harris The Honourable Madam Justice K. Shaner On appeal from: An order of the Supreme Court of Yukon, dated February 13, 2019, (Senft v. Vigneau, Whitehorse Docket 17-A0120). Counsel for the Appellants: D.F. Sutherland, Q.C. M. Hannam Counsel for the Respondents: G. Whittle M. Whittle Place and Date of Hearing: Whitehorse, Yukon November 13, 2019 Place and Date of Judgment: Vancouver, British Columbia March 27, 2020 Written Reasons by: The Honourable Madam Justice D. Smith Concurred in by: The Honourable Mr. Justice Harris The Honourable Madam Justice K. Shaner Senft v. Vigneau Page 2 Summary: The respondents brought an action against the appellants for allegedly defamatory comments. The appellants pleaded the defence of fair comment and the respondents replied by pleading the appellants had acted with express malice in publishing the comments. The judge put the question of malice to the jury without first determining if the evidence established a probability of malice. The jury was directed to first make a finding on the question of malice before considering if the defence of fair comment was established. The jury found the comments were defamatory and that the appellants had acted with malice.
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