A Calgary lawyer says he’s been contacted by “a handful” of Alberta residents and businesses after filing a Canadian class action lawsuit against the creator of Pokemon Go.
READ MORE: Alberta lawsuit calls Pokemon Go visitors an invasion of privacy
“In most cases they’ve gone to the company–sometimes more than on one occasion–and asked them to remove their property from a gym site and haven’t received any response,” Clint Docken told Global News.
Barbra-Lyn Schaeffer first filed the suit in Calgary, saying she’s suffering from an invasion of privacy from players visiting her home in the hamlet of Torrington, 160 kilometres northeast of Calgary. Docken said this type of lawsuit is the first of its kind in Canada.
“They have people all over their property, climbing over their fence, disturbing their dogs, trespassing day and night,” Docken said.
Watch below: Global’s ongoing Pokemon Go coverage
READ MORE: Pokemon Go officially launches in Canada, crashes app’s servers
Niantic, the creator of the game, told Docken it has since removed her residence as a so-called Pokestop as of Thursday. But he says there are still lots of other victims.
“The goal is to remedy the problems class members have experienced,” he said. “We want to correct the problem, that’s front and centre, and then we want to correct the grief.”
Ray Marshall lives in the Edmonton neighbourhood of Griesbach near a “Pokegym” and said his grass has been trampled by up to 250 people outside his home as late as 2 a.m.
“Tromping over grass, not driving safely, phones in hand, blowing through stop signs,” Marshall described.
Griesbach was formerly a military base, part of CFB Edmonton and the neighbourhood includes a number of memorials and tributes to veterans and those still serving.
He admits he has used Pokemon Go commercially, but suggests the developers should have considered the consequences before choosing their Pokestop locations.
“I fully support the game of Pokemon Go, love the technology and I think it’s great that the millennials are out meeting people, talking to people… but unfortunately they’re damaging city property. We have to go pick up litter and garbage every single morning,” Marshall said.
READ MORE: Driver playing Pokemon Go gets caught by police helicopter, given ‘stern warning’
With files from Denis Ram
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