Law360 Canada ( May 16, 2025, 1:43 PM EDT) -- Appeal by appellants from motion judge’s dismissal of their defamation action against the respondents. The appellants were contracted to perform renovations on the respondents’ home in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. The relationship deteriorated, leading the appellants to initiate a lien action for unpaid bills. Subsequently, the appellants filed a defamation lawsuit against the respondents for derogatory comments made on social media. The respondents countered with a motion to dismiss the defamation action as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (“SLAPP”) under s. 137.1 of the Courts of Justice Act (“Act”). The factual background revealed that the respondents posted several statements online, accusing the appellants of misrepresentation, dishonesty and poor workmanship. They admitted to making the statements but argued that the comments were true, fair, justified, honest opinions and protected by qualified privilege. The motion judge granted the anti-SLAPP motion and dismissed the appellants’ defamation action, finding that the homeowners’ comments related to a matter of public interest, as the appellants offered services to the public and customer reviews online were widely utilized. The judge acknowledged that the appellants’ defamation action had substantial merit but noted triable issues regarding the homeowners’ defence that their statements were true. The judge concluded that the appellants failed to establish that the harm suffered from the defamatory statements was serious enough to outweigh the public interest in protecting the homeowners’ expression. On appeal, the appellants raised issues about the motion judge’s findings on public interest, the validity of the homeowners’ defence, the weighing exercise of harm versus public interest, and the costs award....