Daniel A. Lublin

The plaintiff, a 62-year-old former Director of Product Design and Development with 11.65 years of service, sued for wrongful dismissal after his employment was terminated.

The court applied the Bardal factors and awarded a 16-month reasonable notice period, including base salary, unpaid bonus, benefits, and pension contributions.

The plaintiff's claim for bad faith damages, based on the employer's late disclosure of a superseding employment contract, was dismissed as the conduct did not meet the required threshold.

Following a successful summary judgment motion for wrongful dismissal, the plaintiff sought full or substantial indemnity costs, alleging the defendant engaged in improper conduct by initially offering insufficient severance.

The court found no improper, vexatious, or unnecessary conduct by the defendant that would warrant elevated costs.

The court awarded the plaintiff costs on a partial indemnity basis, fixed at $14,000 inclusive of disbursements and HST, noting the straightforward nature of the proceeding.

The plaintiff, a 60-year-old senior manager with 30 years of service, was dismissed without cause due to restructuring.

She brought a motion for summary judgment for wrongful dismissal.

The court applied the Bardal factors and awarded a 24-month reasonable notice period, noting her age, long tenure, and the competitive disadvantage she faced in the job market.

The court also applied the trust and accounting approach rather than a contingency discount for mitigation, impressing the award with a trust in favour of the employer for any earnings obtained during the balance of the notice period.

Following a motion concerning the enforceability of an employment agreement, the court determined the appropriate costs award.

The plaintiff succeeded on the principal issue of enforceability, while the defendant succeeded on inducement and the dismissal of punitive damages.

The court considered the divided success, the principle of indemnity, and the factors under Rule 57.01 of the Rules of Civil Procedure and s. 131 of the Courts of Justice Act.

Although the plaintiff sought $16,505 in partial indemnity costs, the court found the amount somewhat high and adjusted the award to reflect the mixed success of the parties.

Costs were fixed at $10,000 inclusive of HST and disbursements.