Andrew N. Vey

The applicant sought judicial review of a Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario decision that dismissed his human rights application under s. 34(11) of the Human Rights Code due to a related civil action for wrongful dismissal.

The Divisional Court found the Tribunal's decision unreasonable because it failed to properly analyze the distinct factual underpinnings and time periods of the two proceedings.

The application for judicial review was granted, and the matter was remitted to the Tribunal for adjudication.

The appellant employer appealed a summary judgment decision awarding the respondent employee common law reasonable notice damages.

The motion judge had found that the termination clause in the employment agreement was ambiguous and did not clearly rebut the presumption of common law notice.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, holding that the motion judge made no palpable and overriding error in interpreting the contract.

The court found that the termination clause, when read in the context of the entire agreement, lacked the necessary clarity to limit the employee's entitlements to the statutory minimums under the Employment Standards Act.

An employee challenged the enforceability of a termination clause in his employment contract with IBM.

The motion judge found the clause ambiguous and unenforceable, holding that it did not clearly exclude the employee's entitlement to damages at common law.

The Court of Appeal reversed, holding that when read as a whole, the termination clause was unambiguous and clearly excluded common law damages.

The clause provided for notice or pay in lieu calculated according to a formula, with a failsafe provision ensuring compliance with the Employment Standards Act.

The court found no violation of the ESA and awarded costs to IBM.

The defendant employer brought a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff's wrongful dismissal claim, arguing the termination clause in the employment contract was enforceable.

The plaintiff argued the clause violated the Employment Standards Act, failed to rebut the common law presumption of reasonable notice, and was breached by the employer.

The court found the termination clause was ambiguous regarding whether the exclusion of common law notice applied to the failsafe provision.

Resolving the ambiguity in favour of the employee, the court dismissed the motion and ordered the issues of reasonable notice and damages to proceed to trial.