PRESS RELEASE – For Immediate Release July 26, 2013
SMART METER CLASS ACTION FILED JULY 25, 2013
DEMANDING RIGHT OF FREE CHOICE FOR ALL
Commencement of proceedings
With the support and representation of the Citizens for Safe Technology Society & the Coalition to Stop Smart Meters, a class action has been brought against BC Hydro by Salt Spring Island resident, Nomi Davis.
The action was commenced on July 25, 2013, through the filing of a Notice of Civil Claim with the B.C. Supreme Court registry in Vancouver. A copy of the filed Notice of Civil Claim is posted at:
The Class
A detailed description of the Class is set out at paragraph 29 of the Notice of Civil Claim.
Quote attributable to Steve Satow:
“If BC Hydro has forced a smart meter on you, threatened to cut off your power or refused to provide you with power unless you accepted a smart meter, then you may fit within the Class of persons on behalf of whom this claim is brought.”
Persons wishing to support or participate in the action may contact www.citizensforsafetechnology.org
Remedy sought
The lawsuit seeks relief set out at paragraph 30 of the Notice of Civil claim, including an order that BC Hydro remove unwanted smart meters as well as a permanent injunction restraining BC Hydro from exacting payment in exchange for an opt out.
Quotes attributable to Sharon Noble:
“Freedom to control the possible carcinogens emitted from one’s own home is not a luxury, it is a right.
We will not stand by and let a government authority extort a payment in exchange for the preservation of our rights.
“Already, people have long endured the operation of smart meters at their homes against their will. Time is of the essence here. Gestating and nursing mothers are particularly concerned about exposure and want those smart meters removed. We want free choice, free of charge – and we want it now.”
Health fact
On April 19, 2013, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer released a detailed report explaining its designation of smart meter and other radiofrequency emissions as a possible human cancer agent. The 462-page report is publically available at:
http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol102/mono102.pdf
About the representative plaintiff
Nomi Davis is a Salt Spring Island yoga teacher on whom a smart meter was imposed in a deceptive and coercive fashion against the resistance of Davis and her supporters. The August 22, 2012, event was taped:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FSDdeXm8dQ
The media is requested to direct inquiries of Davis to her representatives, the Citizens for Safe Technology Society, the Coalition to Stop Smart Meters or her legal counsel, David M. Aaron.
Why now?
Quote attributable to Una St. Clair:
“While the government mulls over its next policy manoeuvre, it can consider the assertion of fundamental legal rights that this lawsuit represents. We are not going to sit and wait while the government serves up policy at its pleasure. There are rights at stake and it is through the judiciary that we will see to their preservation.”
“If I choose to avoid chemical fertilizers on my property because I think they’re unhealthy, that is my choice. The same goes with exposure to smart meter radiation. In a free and pluralistic society, a possible toxin cannot be forced down anyone’s throat – or forced onto one’s property.”
Legal commentary
Quote attributable to David M. Aaron, counsel for the Plaintiff:
The lawsuit asserts that the home is a private domain where free choice and autonomy rule. It claims a right of control over environmental exposures generated from one’s own domestic dwelling; and it alleges that BC Hydro has unlawfully leveraged its monopoly powers to violate that right by coercively and deceptively imposing a smart meter on the Plaintiff and other members of the Class.
Next steps in litigation process
It is expected that BC Hydro will receive service of the Court documents today. B.C. Hydro will have 21 days (from being served) to file its defence pleading (Response to Civil Claim) after which the Plaintiff will seek to have the action certified under the Class Proceedings Act.
Contacts
Sharon Noble, CST Director – 250-478-7892
Steve Satow, CST Advisory Board Member, 250-744-2244
Una St.Clair, CST Executive Director – 604-607-8601
Website
www.citizensforsafetechnology.org
CLICK HERE to JOIN this Class Action
CLICK HERE for more Information
