Alex Van Kralingen

The appellant employee was terminated without cause and was entitled to six months' pay in lieu of notice under his employment agreement.

The agreement was silent on the duty to mitigate.

The employee found new employment after two weeks, and the employer ceased paying the salary continuance.

The application judge held the employee had a duty to mitigate.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, holding that where an employment agreement contains a stipulated entitlement on termination without cause, the amount is either liquidated damages or a contractual sum, and mitigation is irrelevant unless expressly required by the contract.

The appellant appealed an order striking paragraphs in its statement of claim that alleged three statements (website, faxed, and oral) were defamatory.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, agreeing with the motion judge that the impugned remarks, taken in context, were not capable of bearing the defamatory meanings alleged by reasonable persons of ordinary intelligence.