Photo: Contributed

Legal action won’t silence the sound of gunfire at the Kelowna and District Fish and Game Club.

Phillip Potts, who owns a property next to the club, sought a court order to ban shooting there. He argues the noise is “intrusive, annoying and aggravating.”

In his ruling, Kelowna Supreme Court Justice Peter Rogers notes Potts, as well as his wife and son, complain they can’t enjoy their deck or eat outside.

“The plaintiff says that the noise of gunfire makes him feel anxious and alarms his dog. It is hard for him to concentrate on, say, reading a book. That is because he is often on edge, waiting for the next sharp bang,” writes Rogers.

The judge, however, chose not to grant an interim injunction against gunfire at the club, saying it couldn’t be as intrusive as Potts argues – considering the plaintiff’s “sloth” in addressing the issue.

“The current application was filed in May 2011,” says Rogers. “That is not a typo; the application before the court today was filed more than five years ago.”

“For what it may be worth, I find that an interim injunction would serve a single plaintiff’s interests at the expense of the perfectly legal and legitimate sporting interests of a great many members of the defendant society.”

The club has been in operation for decades, after acquiring the land on Casorso Road in 1956. Potts bought his neighbouring land in 1990 and voiced his first noise complaint in 2002.

The case is ongoing.