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The lawsuit did not meet criteria for a class-action suit, said the B.C. Supreme Court
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A proposed class-action lawsuit over an overdose prevention site in downtown Vancouver that was accused of bringing public disorder and crime to its Yaletown neighbourhood has been thrown out in B.C. Supreme Court.
Justice Anita Chan has dismissed the lawsuit’s application for certification. In her reasons for judgment, issued Wednesday, Chan said the suit did not meet criteria that would allow it to proceed.
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The lawsuit was filed in June 2023 by plaintiffs Michael Wilson and 111 Seymour Residences against the City of Vancouver, Vancouver Coastal Health, and Raincity Housing.
The plaintiffs lived near the former Thomas Donaghy overdose prevention site, which opened in March 2021 on the ground-floor of a city-owned building on the corner of Seymour and Helmcken streets, near Emery Barnes park.
Following a public outcry over the impact of the facility and its users on the neighbourhood, the City of Vancouver did not renew the lease in 2023 and the facility moved to the 1000-block Howe Street in early April.
The plaintiffs alleged the defendants were responsible for “impugned conduct” that occurred over a three-year period from March 2021 to March 2024 at the facility operating at 1101 Seymour St., including: Loitering, sleeping, camping, erecting structures around the site that impeded access to homes and businesses, defecation on the ground, disorderly behaviour, and criminal activity, including the sale and use of illicit drugs and vandalism.
The plaintiffs said they had brought the issue to the attention of the defendants, who they said failed to take action to stop the behaviour of site users from interfering with the use and enjoyment of neighbouring properties and businesses.
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The plaintiffs said they have suffered harm, loss, damage, and expenses, including loss of business and/or rental income, out-of-pocket costs to repair property damage and diminished value of their properties.
In her decision, Chan said the plaintiffs failed to meet the criteria of identifying an “identifiable class,” which determines who is entitled to relief in a class-action.
The plaintiffs defined the class as people who have lived in property or who have operated a business within the Emery Barnes neighbourhood — an area it defined as bounded by Drake Street, Homer Street, Nelson Street, and the alley behind Granville and Seymour streets — from March 2, 2021.
Chan said there is no clear demarcation of where the boundaries should be, and the current boundaries are “both over-inclusive and under-inclusive.”
“The court is concerned the proposed boundaries are unnecessarily broad and also arbitrarily narrow, excluding potential class members,” she wrote, noting there is also concern potential class members could include those who engaged in the “impugned conduct,” given that people who used the site could also have resided in the area, which would present a risk of conflict of interest.
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Class-action suits also require there must be one or more suitable “common issues” that affect all members of the class, and that’s not the case here, said Chan.
She said the conduct alleged by the plaintiffs “consists of a variety of actions committed by different individuals at different locations and at different times.”
“It is not possible to group all these different actions together to ask whether the defendants caused or contributed to these incidents,” she said, adding there was no evidence that the individuals who committed the impugned conduct were users of the site.
chchan@postmedia.com
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