Suit against Niocan thrown out

The Quebec Superior Court has dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought against Niocan (NIO-T) by an opponent of the company’s Oka niobium project.

The suit, brought by Andre Chaput, president of the Oka Citizens’ Committee, claimed “damage to reputation and related stress” arising from advertisements Niocan had taken out in a local newspaper. The advertisements contradicted information that had been posted on the Citizens’ Committee’s World Wide Web site.

Witnesses at trial testified that the material on the Web site claimed the project created risks to the local community but conceded tht the information had been faulty. Some errors of fact on the Web site had been corrected, but Chaput had refused to repudiate them.

The court assessed costs of $35,000 against the plaintiff.