Law360 Canada ( August 24, 2021, 5:46 AM EDT) -- Appeal by the plaintiffs from dismissal of their defamation action. The respondent was a former employee of the appellant Vanbex Inc. Vanbex began as a marketing and consulting company for the cryptocurrency and block chain industries. The respondent was hired to build and develop the code for a proposed block chain technology. The appellants’ action was founded on an e-mail sent by the respondent to police that expressed his suspicion that the appellant Hobbs was using Vanbex for criminal purposes. Civil forfeiture proceedings and extensive media coverage resulted. Hobbs deposed to reputational damage to all three appellants, to millions in lost revenue, the loss of a potential sale of Vanbex in the millions of dollars, loss of 13 employees due to resignations and layoffs, reductions in earnings and personal stress. The respondent brought an application to dismiss the claim under s. 4 of the Protection of Public Participation Act. The chambers judge emphasized that all the alleged losses were said to arise because of the Civil Forfeiture Action and its resulting publicity. The chambers judge held that the appellants did not establish that the harm likely to have been suffered because of the respondent’s expression was serious enough that the public interest in continuing the proceeding outweighed the public interest in protecting his expression....