The Court dismissed an application for pre-action discovery to identify anonymous Facebook group members alleged to have posted defamatory comments. The application failed on multiple jurisdictional grounds: the plaintiff did not adduce admissible evidence that he wanted to commence proceedings (his solicitor's affidavit stated this as an inadmissible conclusion without identifying the source of the belief, contrary to RSC O 37 r 6); the plaintiff failed to demonstrate reasonable enquiries had been made, including any enquiry of Meta Platforms Inc; and the defendant had already provided all information in his possession, with the deleted posts being unrecoverable. The Court emphasised that the applicant's intention to commence proceedings is a fundamental requirement under O 26A r 3(1)(a) that must be clearly deposed to by the applicant personally and cannot be left to inference.
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