Executive Summary: Key Legal and Evidentiary Issues

• The applicant sought damages through a judicial review application, a remedy outside the Divisional Court's jurisdiction.

• The court determined the application failed to identify any reviewable decision or administrative action.

• The claim lacked factual specificity, including dates or clear references to specific incidents or decisions.

• The application was viewed as an abuse of process under Rule 2.1.01 of the Rules of Civil Procedure.

• A prior related civil action by the applicant had also been dismissed for procedural deficiencies.

• The court emphasized the limited scope of judicial review and reiterated that damages cannot be awarded through this mechanism.

Facts of the case

Kobi (Kobina) Edusei, a self-represented litigant, brought an application for judicial review against members of the Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS), the Law Enforcement Complaints Agency (LECA), and the Attorney General of Ontario. He alleged misconduct by the police and a failure by LECA to properly investigate his complaint. According to his notice of application, Mr. Edusei claimed the actions of the respondents led to his arrest, criminal charges, incarceration, and other significant personal consequences.

Although the application appeared to challenge administrative decisions and conduct, it sought only compensatory and punitive damages. No specific dates, incidents, or decisions were identified, and the notice failed to request any of the relief available under section 2 of the Judicial Review Procedure Act, such as mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, or a declaratory order. The applicant did not clarify which administrative decisions were being challenged, nor did he provide details supporting jurisdiction or procedural compliance.

This was Mr. Edusei’s second attempt to litigate against the same parties. A prior action had been dismissed by Justice Bale under Rule 2.1.01(1) on similar grounds. In that earlier proceeding, the plaintiff filed a Statement of Claim with no clear claim for relief, merely raising concerns about police conduct and LECA’s response.

Outcome and reasoning

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Divisional Court) dismissed Mr. Edusei’s application as an abuse of process under Rule 2.1.01. Justice R.E. Charney found that the court did not have jurisdiction to award the damages sought. He relied on established precedent, including Ling v. Justice of the Peace Review Council, to reaffirm that damages are not available through judicial review. As the application did not seek any proper relief under the Judicial Review Procedure Act and offered no justiciable administrative decision for the court to consider, it failed on its face.

Justice Charney emphasized that even if the application was not frivolous or vexatious in content, it still qualified as an abuse of process because the Divisional Court lacked jurisdiction to grant the requested remedy. The court concluded there was no benefit to allowing the clearly defective proceeding to proceed and dismissed the application accordingly. No order as to costs was made.