The Quebec Court of Appeal has rejected the appeal of Jérémy Gabriel's mother: her lawsuit against comedian Mike Ward for defamation and harassment cannot therefore proceed.
Sylvie Gabriel sought financial compensation for what she said she suffered after the comedian killed her son during his show entitled “Mike Ward s'eXpose,” which was performed on stage between 2010 and 2013 and mocked himself.
With its decision issued on Monday, the appeal court confirmed the previous ruling: Ms. Gabriel had filed her appeal too late. The law provides that a person who believes they have suffered harm has a maximum time limit, which varies depending on the nature of the case, to file a lawsuit. The court found that she had exceeded this limit.
The case has been in court for more than ten years and has seen many twists and turns.
It all started in 2012 when Ms Gabriel lodged a complaint with the Commission on Human and Youth Rights (the Commission) after hearing comments from Mike Ward that she was considering denigrating her son, who became known as a singer. Jérémy Gabriel suffers from Treacher Collins syndrome, a congenital disease characterized by head deformities and severe deafness. For Ms Gabriel, these words amounted to discrimination against her then-teenage son based on his disability. The comedian added another layer by claiming the mother had used her son's money to buy luxury goods, according to the statement shared on Monday Verdict. The Commission considered the complaint to be well-founded and filed a lawsuit against Mike Ward before the Quebec Human Rights Tribunal on behalf of Jérémy Gabriel and his parents, seeking the sum of $80,000.
The Gabriel family initially won their case: in 2016, the Human Rights Tribunal ordered Mike Ward to pay $35,000 to Jérémy and $7,000 to his mother. The comedian was found to have violated the young man's right to equality by making discriminatory comments based on his disability that violated his dignity. The case reached the Supreme Court of Canada, which dismissed the discrimination claim in 2021 and canceled the award of the funds.
take two
Shortly thereafter, in January 2022, Sylvie Gabriel filed another lawsuit that took a different approach: this time she claimed that defamation, harassment and intimidation had occurred – so it was not a discrimination claim as a first remedy.
The comedian requested that this second lawsuit be dismissed, arguing that it was without merit because it was filed outside the time limits required by law.
Later in 2022, Justice Manon Gaudreault of the Quebec Court agreed with him, a conclusion just confirmed by the Court of Appeal. The first action brought by the Commission did not suspend the time limit for Ms Gabriel to bring her second action, this one for defamation. The woman can still appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada if it agrees to hear the case.
Jérémy Gabriel also filed a second lawsuit against Mike Ward. She had been placed on hold while she awaited the outcome of her mother's case. Then, last November, he officially ended that process.