This site has covered many of the terribly crafted cases filed by the “freedom lawyers” in recent years. These challenges to lockdown measures — such as injection mandates — are often comically done. The suits have procedural defects built in, which ensures that they go nowhere.
However, let’s consider another angle. Does it benefit clients, or the public as a whole, when cases are simply discontinued (dropped) long before they’re ever heard?
Worse, there’s typically no media attention when lawsuits are ended like this. Certainly, high profile rulings do get published. But there are no decisions when cases are simply dropped, making it far harder to piece together what’s really going on.
While CanLII is a great tool for searching verdicts, it’s essentially useless at helping to find out when discontinuances are filed. Reporters are left having to manually search, often without complete information.
Today, let’s look at a (somewhat) more low profile lawyer, and at some of his recent work. The results are not encouraging.
Timeline Of Leighton Grey’s Injection Passport Cases
- March 16th, 2022: Grey discontinues lawsuit against University of Winnipeg.
- April 10th, 2023: Grey discontinues lawsuit against Purolator.
- April 12th, 2023: Grey discontinues lawsuit on behalf of Westjest employees.
- April 25th, 2023: Grey discontinues lawsuit against City of Calgary
- May 25th, 2023: Grey discontinues Proposed Class Action suit against Winnipeg/Manitoba.
- June 20th, 2023: Grey discontinues the rest of the case with CNR.
- January 31st, 2024: Grey discontinues Pillon lawsuit against Ducks Unlimited Canada.
- March 18th, 2024: Grey discontinues (Hildebrand) case with CNR.
- November 5th, 2024: Grey brings Motion to withdraw as counsel in Stowe/TransX case.
Then there’s the Canada Post (a.k.a. “Posties”) case to talk about. That wasn’t discontinued, but it was crashed into the ground. In order to challenge an arbitration ruling, Grey should have filed an Application for Judicial Review. Instead, he filed a Statement of Claim, and tried to get around it. Quite predictably, the case was thrown out.
Now, Grey is still soliciting money for his Proposed Class Action (Burke), which was filed in Federal Court. This is supposedly on behalf of federally regulated workers, excluding the airline industry. But considering he already dropped the Winnipeg suit, why should people have confidence in this one?
It’s worth noting that this very likely isn’t the complete list.
#1: Lawsuit Against University Of Winnipeg, Brent Roussin Et Al
This case is actually a bit confusing. While it appears that the parties agreed to having the case struck, there is still a Notice of Discontinuance on file. It’s also worth noting that the Statement of Claim filed here is essentially cut-and-pasted into future claims.
Note: The Manitoba Courts have a great system, which allows members of the public to check the status of cases. Specific documents can be requested, although there’s typically a fee for doing so.
(1) Mlodzinski Statement Of Claim
(2) Mlodzinski Notice Of Motion Uncontested
(3) Mlodzinski Order Striking Case
(4) Mlodzinski Notice Of Discontinuance
#2: Lawsuit Against Purolator, Canadian Government
June 17th, 2022: Statement of Claim is filed against Purolator and Ottawa.
December 23rd, 2022: Statement of Claim is amended.
April 10th, 2023: Claim is discontinued against everyone.
Note: All of the dates listed can be confirmed by searching the respective cases on the Federal Court website. It keeps a detailed listing of all significant events.
There isn’t anything noteworthy to report in the case. After it sat idle, for nearly a year, the case was dropped. Presumably, no one got refunds.
PUROLATOR COURT DOCUMENTS:
(1) Purolator T-1267-22 Statement Of Claim
(2) Purolator T-1267-22 Amended Statement Of Claim
(3) Purolator T-1267-22 Notice Of Discontinuance
#3: Lawsuit Against Westjet, Government Of Canada
October 4th, 2022: Statement of Claim is filed.
November 17th, 2022: Defence files Notice of Intent to Respond.
November 20th, 2022: Case management is ordered.
November 21st, 2022: Amended Statement of Claim is filed.
December 5th, 2022: Plaintiffs (a) Erin Shannon; (b) Tara Mainland; (c) Jennifer Masterman all send in Notices of Discontinuance.
December 8th, 2022: Plaintiff’s lawyer (Grey) submits letter with proposed timetable.
February 28th, 2023: Court orders case management conference on March 13th, 2023.
March 13th, 2023: Conference discusses options of discontinuing overall, or setting timetable to file materials for Motion to Strike.
April 12th, 2023: Lawsuit is discontinued.
Note: All of the dates listed can be confirmed by searching the respective cases on the Federal Court website. It keeps a detailed listing of all significant events.
WESTJET COURT DOCUMENTS:
(1) Westjet Statement Of Claim October 2022
(2) Westjet Amended Statement Of Claim November 2022
(3) Westjet Order Timetable December 2022
(4) Westjet Notice Of Discontinuance April 2023
#4: Firefighters V. City Of Calgary, Case Dropped
July 7th, 2022: Statement of Claim filed.
August 9th, 2022: Application brought to strike Statement of Claim.
September 9th, 2022: Hearing (to strike suit) adjourned.
September 21st, 2022: Statement of Claim is amended.
April 25th, 2023: Notice of Discontinuance.
Note: The Alberta Courts are a bit different. The search function allows people who order a list of the documents filed. From there, specific ones can be selected.
(1) Calgary Firefighters List Of Documents
#5: Peters V. Winnipeg/Manitoba Class Action
December 8th, 2022: Statement of Claim is filed in the King’s Bench Court of Manitoba
January 5th, 2023: Municipal Defendants prepare Notice of Motion to strike lawsuit.
January 6th, 2023: Manitoba Defendants prepare Notice of Motion to strike lawsuit.
February 14th, 2023: Hearing for Motion to Strike is adjourned.
February 27th, 2023: Hearing for Motion to Strike is adjourned.
April 27th, 2023: Hearing for Motion to Strike is adjourned.
May 25th, 2023: Notice of Discontinuance is filed.
Note: The Manitoba Courts have a great system, which allows members of the public to check the status of cases. Specific documents can be requested, although there’s typically a fee for doing so.
As an aside, the Notice of Discontinuance is dated April 3rd, 2023, but wasn’t filed until the end of May. Perhaps dropping the case had long been the intention.
There are so many examples of this happening.
WINNIPEG/MANITOBA COURT DOCUMENTS:
(1) Winnipeg Class Action Statement Of Claim
(2) Winnipeg Class Action Notice Of Motion Municipal Defendants
(3) Winnipeg Class Action Notice Of Motion Provincial Defendants
(4) Winnipeg Class Action Affidavit Of Service
(5) Winnipeg Class Action Notice Of Discontinuance
#6: Lawsuit Against Canadian National Railway Dropped
March 4th, 2022: Grey files the Statement of Claim against CNR and the Federal Government. Despite representing over 200 Plaintiffs, the entire document is just 14 pages long.
September 7th, 2022: case management is held to bring a Motion to Strike.
October 11th, 2022: Statement of Claim is amended.
October 28, 2022: first Notice of Discontinuance is filed. Several Plaintiffs want out.
February 1st, 2023: Statement of Claim is again amended.
February 7th, 2023: Order from the Court regarding how to proceed with the Motion to Strike the case.
May 8th, 2023: Most Plaintiffs discontinue.
May 17th, 2023: Grey files a Motion to remove himself as solicitor for the few remaining clients. This appears to be the most work he has actually performed in the case.
June 20th, 2023: Last client discontinues case.
Note: All of the dates listed can be confirmed by searching the respective cases on the Federal Court website. It keeps a detailed listing of all significant events.
So, what actually happened in this case? The Statement of Claim was amended a few times, and there was some activity on a Motion to Strike. Then the suit was dropped without anything happening. None of the Plaintiffs ever got their day in Court. But their lawyer probably got his money.
CNR COURT DOCUMENTS:
(1) CNR T-553-22 Statement Of Claim (March 4, 2022)
(2) CNR T-553-22 Case Management September 7 2022
(3) CNR T-553-22 Amended Statement Of Claim (October 11, 2022)
(4) CNR T-553-22 Notice Of Discontinuance October 28, 2022
(5) CNR T-553-22 Amended Amended Statement Of Claim (February 1, 2023)
(6) CNR T-553-22 Order Regarding Motion To Strike February 7 2023
(7) CNR T-553-22 Notice Of Discontinuance May 8, 2023
(8) CNR T-553-22 Motion For Removal Of Solicitor (May 17, 2023)
(9) CNR T-553-22 Notice Of Discontinuance June 20, 2023
#7: Pillon V. Ducks Unlimited Canada Lawsuit
October 2023, Grey files a lawsuit in Manitoba against Ducks Unlimited Canada. The case is discontinued in January 2024, before the Statement of Claim is even filed.
Note: The Manitoba Courts have a great system, which allows members of the public to check the status of cases. Specific documents can be requested, although there’s typically a fee for doing so.
(1) Pillon Statement Of Claim
(2) Pillon Notice Of Discontinuance
#8: Hildebrand V. Canadian National Railway Lawsuit
At the end of October, 2023, Grey filed a Statement of Claim on behalf of Kenton Hildebrand, against CNR in Manitoba. The case was dropped in April 2024, and had not even been served.
Note: The Manitoba Courts have a great system, which allows members of the public to check the status of cases. Specific documents can be requested, although there’s typically a fee for doing so.
HILDEBRAND COURT DOCUMENTS:
(1) CNR Hildebrand Statement Of Claim
(2) CNR Hildebrand Notice Of Discontinuance
#9: Grey Withdraws As Counsel For Stowe/TransX Case
Grey filed this suit in October 2023. For more than a year later, until November 2024, there had been no activity whatsoever. Then, Grey filed a Motion to get himself removed as counsel.
While technically Grey hasn’t discontinued this case, Stowe is essentially screwed. He’s now outside the Statute of Limitations to file a proper claim, and it seems very unlikely he can get help with the existing one. For him, the case is over.
Note: The Manitoba Courts have a great system, which allows members of the public to check the status of cases. Specific documents can be requested, although there’s typically a fee for doing so.
(1) Stowe TransX Statement Of Claim
(2) Stowe TransX Motion To Withdraw
Okay, So Why Should People Care About This?
These types of lawsuits typically make the news when they’re filed. That said, they almost never get any sort of attention when they’re dropped. The public wrongly believes that there are lawyers working hard to protect their rights.
People are free to spend their own money however they wish. With that in mind, most people like to view themselves as intelligent consumers. Many appreciate being more fully informed before making purchases or financial contributions.
The next time some Government comes to trample people’s rights, is there any reason to expect the “freedom lawyers” will defend the public?
Worth noting: Grey was recently successful in getting certification for a Proposed Class Action involving residential school students. He’s clearly capable of doing great work. But his injection pass cases have consistently been a complete dead end.
Do you actually think Liberty Talk would ever address something like this?
class actions are mostly scams ab initio
the class actions for former students and others… affected by their experience in Indian Residential Schools … soon turned in to gigantic scams. I was in Regina circa 2000 helping a guy contend with Tony Merchant who had badly bungled his divorce to the extent that it appeared his head had been handed over on a silver platter
word on the street then, was = Mr Merchant was going ’round soliciting anyone and everyone to get on board lawsuits – plural – that his firm was conducting. Eventually Merchant was censured for taking an obscene “cut” of the payouts to Indians
No mere coincidence that Tony Merchant’s mom – Daisy Merchant – had been one of the senior Liberal Party powerbrokers in that part of Canada. The thing was contrived as gigantic paydays for the bleeding hearts legal racketeers trafficking the notion that the residential schools were part of a grand design of “genocide”.
the antidote for which is the book = Grave Error