The St. James Assiniboia School Division and convicted sex offender Graham James are again trying to have a man’s lawsuit, which alleges he was abused by the former hockey coach decades ago, thrown out.
A judge has allowed the defendants to file a motion for a summary judgment, which means the judge could decide the facts of the lawsuit, and potentially dismiss it, without the case going to trial.
The lawsuit was filed in the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench by lawyer Natalie Gerry of Thunder Bay, Ont., on behalf of the alleged victim in November 2023. It names James and the school division as defendants.
Graham James’ mug shot from Stony Mountain prison in 2012. James, who has been convicted of multiple sex offences against young boys he coached, has denied sexually assaulting the man who has launched the suit.
The man, who is in his early 50s, wants $6.15 million for damages and his lost ability to earn a living, as well as court costs and interest.
The man said James, who’s in his early 70s, molested him when he was a substitute teacher at Strathmillan School.
The man initially claimed the abuse had occurred in the spring and early summer of 1983. However, both the school division and James separately filed school, hockey division and tax records that suggest James was not working at the school at that time, after he started to work full time for the Winnipeg Warriors junior hockey team in 1983-84.
The defendants filed police records that indicate Winnipeg investigators found no evidence James had worked there at the time and that the plaintiff did not attend the school that spring, having moved to Winnipeg in the summer of 1983.
Both defendants are seeking to have the lawsuit rejected.
The man has since amended his statement of claim to indicate the alleged abuse occurred later in 1983, from September to early fall.
The division and James have yet to file amended statements of defence.
“The plaintiff asserts that due to the passage of time and the trauma he has experienced, his recollection of the time frame when he first spoke with police and filed his statement of claim may have been inaccurate,” King’s Bench Justice Sarah Inness wrote in a pre-trial memo in October.
“He asserts that despite his lack of recollection of certain details, his accounts of what the defendant James did to him are credible and reliable as they are true.”
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES
The St. James – Assiniboia School Division Office at 2574 Portage Avenue.
The man alleges substitute teachers were hired on an informal basis at the time, which could account for the lack of records that indicate James taught at the school at the time, Inness wrote.
James, who has been convicted of multiple sex offences against young boys he coached, has denied sexually assaulting the man who has launched the suit. He also denies teaching at the school at the time.
Inness found, after reviewing the documents that were filed and hearing submissions from lawyers, that the case is appropriate for a summary judgment.
“There is a real, live issue as to identity, that is whether the defendant James committed the sexual assaults alleged by the plaintiff,” she wrote, also noting concerns about the limitation period for parts of the claim is also an issue.
The motion for a summary judgment date has not yet been filed. If the court isn’t satisfied after hearing the motion, the judge may order the lawsuit proceed to trial in the fall of 2026.
erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca
Erik Pindera
Reporter
Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik.
Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.