In Gagnon v. Meta Platforms Inc.[1] (“Gagnon”), Romain Gagnon (the “Appellant”) appealed Justice Lacoste’s June 25, 2024 judgment (the “Original Decision”)[2] in which her Honour dismissed the Appellant’s injunction, and granted Meta Platforms Inc.’s (the “Respondent”) Application for declinatory exception to dismiss, which asked the court to defer to California jurisdiction rather than Canadian jurisdiction.
In the Original Decision, the Respondent imposed restrictions on Facebook posts made by the Appellant on the grounds that the posts were in “violation of Facebook community standards.” The Appellant, being an author, claimed that the Respondent’s restrictions damaged his reputation and in response, he brought an injunction against the Respondent for damages for loss of profit and infringement of his Canadian rights to freedom of expression and reputation. In response to the Appellant’s injunction, the Respondent argued that the Appellant’s claim was based on the contractual terms that bound META to all Facebook users and included a selection clause in which Facebook users in Canada, including the Appellant, agreed to submit to the law of California. The Appellant argued that the selection clause did not apply because it was contrary to the Canadian Charter’s protection against the right to freedom of expression and reputation and that a foreign jurisdiction cannot override the Canadian Charter.
The court dismissed the Appellant’s injunction, finding that the dispute was contractual in nature and as such, was subject to the Respondent’s terms, which included the forum selection clause deferring jurisdiction to California courts. The Appellant appealed the Original Decision to the Quebec Court of Appeal and lost. The Quebec Court of Appeal was not convinced that the Application judge erred in finding that the forum clause applied.
Gagnon is significant as it addresses and confirms the enforceability of forum selection clauses within the Canadian civil litigation landscape and serves as a reminder of how powerful such clauses can be. In the court’s eyes, the Appellant’s Charter rights did not come into play as the nature of the dispute was contractual between the Appellant, being an individual, and the Respondent, being a private organization.
[1] Gagnon v. Meta Platforms Inc., 2024 QCCA 1609.
[1] Ibid.