Court File and Parties

COURT FILE NO.: CV-21-656756 DATE: 20210302 ONTARIO SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE

RE: Gregory Potter, Plaintiff AND Lametti et al., Defendants

BEFORE: F.L. Myers J.

READ: March 2, 2021

Endorsement

[1] By endorsement dated February 8, 2021, reported at 2021 ONSC 1155, I directed the registrar to send a notice in form 2.1A advising the plaintiff that the court was considering dismissing this action under rule 2.1. The notice form invited the plaintiff to make submissions to explain why the action should not be dismissed for being frivolous, vexatious, or an abuse of process.

[2] In my prior endorsement I specifically advised the plaintiff as follows:

I invite the plaintiff to try to write, in ten pages or less, in plain and simple terms what he says has been done to him, by whom, and on what basis he believes he is entitled to claim relief in civil lawsuit.

[3] In a letter addressed to me dated March 1, 2021, Mr Potter did exactly as I had asked.

[4] As I understand his letter, he wishes to sue his former employer CSIS/CSE. Among his complaints, Mr Potter says that he was harassed by his former supervisors. He was denied sleep. He was physically threatened. He also complains that he is receiving communications to his electronic devices that he finds harassing. Mr Potter summarizes his complaints as follows:

Day after day for 25 months straight I have been harassed, threatened, and forced to remain in contact with CSIS through electronic frequencies (which I cannot turn off as I’ve been denied access), which is all able to be proved through your request(s)/orders for information from the Federal Government.

[5] In essence, Mr Potter describes the causes of action of wrongful dismissal, assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. These are all recognized bases for claiming damages in a civil lawsuit.

[6] At this stage, I am not determining whether Mr. Potter will win or whether his claims can be stated in a way that will be sufficient to survive other procedural reviews.

[7] As currently drafted, Mr Potter's claim does not contain a concise statement of the material facts to establish the bases for suing that I have listed above. Moreover, it appears to bear the hallmarks of a vexatious claim because Mr. Potter has sued numerous individuals, including ministers of the Crown, and the claim itself does not set out allegations of fact to which any specific defendant can be fairly called upon to respond.

[8] However, if Mr Potter can revise the claim just to set out the facts that are listed in his letter in a chronological and simple way to say who did things to him; when and where; and how he has been hurt or damaged by those acts, a proper claim can emerge.

[9] I encourage Mr Potter to look online for examples of statements of claim filed in the Ontario Superior Court to give him a better idea of what is expected. We are not sticklers for grammar or form. As long as he tells a coherent story describing specific acts committed by specific people at relatively specific places or times, so that the defendants will be able to identify what he claims each of them did to him, that will suffice.

[10] I therefore strike out Mr Potter's current statement of claim and allow him to file a new, Fresh as Amended Statement of Claim setting out the events discussed in his letter and suing only those intelligence entities and people who were actually involved in hurting him. He must file the new claim by April 30, 2021.

[11] Once again, I have no way to know if a lawsuit for these events will succeed. But if Mr. Potter can set out the story by making concise allegations of fact and leaving out the extraneous material that overwhelmed his initial claim, he may be able to surmount an initial review under Rule 2.1.

[12] I encourage Mr Potter to obtain the assistance of a lawyer. Mr Potter may be able to obtain some free legal advice from the Pro Bono Ontario Hotline that can be reached at 1-855-255-7256

[13] The defendants, or any of them, may submit to my Judicial Assistant for my signature a draft order implementing the striking the statement of claim with leave to amend as set out above. I dispense with the need to obtain the plaintiff’s approval of the form and content of the formal order. I will ensure that it is correct and that a copy of the formal order is sent to Mr Potter once it is signed.

F.L. Myers J. Date: March 2, 2021