Justice Grace recently awarded $40,000 in damages to Jane Doe following the publication of her name by the London Free Press after she testified in a high profile sexual assault trial. A publication ban had been in place.

Damages vary from plaintiff to plaintiff. In this case, Jane Doe’s damages included anxiety, depression, agoraphobia and harassment.

Justice Grace reminded us that the law does not compensate upset, disgust, agitation or other mental states that fall short of injury. Psychological damages must be serious and prolonged to rise above the ordinary annoyances, anxieties and fears people routinely experience.

The case is called Doe v. Sun Media, 2015 ONSC 4239 (CanLII).