A B.C. Supreme Court judge has chosen an unusual way to show her disapproval of a libel suit filed by a Vancouver law firm against a former client.

Justice Catherine Murray awarded Kyla Lee and her firm, Acumen Law Corporation, just $1 in damages from defendant Hoan Nguyen.

Murray determined that Nguyen wrote a defamatory post on Google Plus after his appeal of a roadside suspension had been dismissed.

The judge noted in her decision that the post was "at the lowest end of the scale". That's because it was clearly written by a disgruntled client and was posted in the heat of the moment. Moreover, the judge wrote, it contained spelling mistakes and poor punctuation.

Lee and the law firm had earlier refused Nguyen's demand for a $2,000 refund.

"Although generally defamation cases automatically attract a presumptive award of damages, the dearth of evidence of damage or injury in this case is significant, particularly as I have found the defendant’s post to be minimally defamatory, if at all," Murray wrote. "In this time when virtually everyone has instantaneous access to the internet, many use the internet to express their feelings without pause or reflection. Business people with Google Plus profiles or the like invite comments from customers. Surely no one can expect to receive all favourable reports."

The judge added that "a lawyer must exercise restraint when it comes to launching legal action when they receive a review that displeases them."

"It takes little for them to commence a lawsuit as they are familiar with the law and can represent themselves," Murray noted. "Defendants on the other hand are often not so fortunate. They will have to incur expense to defend themselves, or they can do as this defendant did and ignore the claim—in which case default judgment may be entered against them.

"This is particularly problematic in the context of defamation actions where a defendant must actively raise the available defences, such as the defence of truth or justification," the judge continued. "It is likely that they will suffer significant anxiety about being sued by a lawyer. In my view this action should never have been brought."

Murray also didn't award any costs to Lee or the law firm.