The Complainant, owner of the REGINA LUTHERAN HOME and EDEN
CARE COMMUNITIES, used in Canada as early as 1963 and 2011, respectively. The
Registrant registered the Domain Names in October, 2017. The Complainant alleges that the Domain Name
was set up to disrupt the business of the Complainant and extort money from the
Complainant. The two parties are entrenched
in a vicious dispute that has made its way to the local media and Police. The Registrant is a council member of the
Complainant’s business, and his wife its former chair person. He alleges that the Domain Name was registered
in good faith to criticize the business (including its mismanagement and
finances) of the Complainant. The web
site directs visitors looking for the Complainant to its actual web site (by
hyperlink).
The Panel found that the Domain Name was registered in bad faith. The Panel analyzed whether the web site was registered for the purpose of valid criticism, and held that although some of the material on the web site is criticism, the material as a whole is not. The Registrant appears to be fixated on a vendetta against the Complainant’s former CEO, and the material on the site lacks objectivity, and is therefore not within the meaning of criticism. Additionally, in communication between the parties prior to the registration of the Domain Names, the Registrant did seek compensation (and an apology) from the Complainant and would have abandoned his “project”.
Interestingly, the Registrant sought its costs associated with responding to the Complaint, which was rejected because the Complaint was not brought in bad faith.
You can read the decision here.
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