Ellen Bessner

The plaintiff, Alex M. Bodnarchuk, brought a consent motion to certify a class action for settlement purposes and to obtain leave to proceed with a secondary market misrepresentation claim under the Ontario Securities Act against Guestlogix Inc., Brett Proud, and Patrick Leung.

The action alleged misrepresentations and omissions regarding credit facilities and financial covenants.

The parties reached a settlement of $1,275,000.

The court granted leave, finding the action was brought in good faith and had a reasonable possibility of success for settlement purposes.

The court also certified the action as a class proceeding for settlement purposes, finding all criteria under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992 were met.

The order approved the settlement notices and procedures for opt-outs and objections, and set a date for the settlement approval hearing.

A corporate officer brought a summary judgment motion to dismiss a counterclaim alleging defamation and intentional interference with employment following the termination of the counterclaiming party.

The court found the counterclaim failed to plead any specific cause of action or damages against the officer personally and that the evidentiary record disclosed no basis for personal liability.

All alleged acts were performed in the officer’s corporate capacity on behalf of the employer corporation, and there was no evidence of fraud, personal benefit, or conduct justifying piercing the corporate veil.

The court held that a wrongful dismissal claim against the employer could not be reframed as a tort claim against the corporate officer.

Summary judgment was granted dismissing the counterclaim against the officer.

The plaintiff, a 48-year-old senior executive, brought a wrongful dismissal action against his former employer seeking an 18-month notice period and various bonus entitlements.

The court first determined that the plaintiff was an independent contractor during his initial 18-month consulting period, meaning his length of service as an employee was only 19 months.

Applying the Bardal factors, the court found the employer's offer of 6.5 months' notice was reasonable.

The court dismissed the plaintiff's claims for additional bonuses under various incentive plans, except for a $15,000 SMART bonus.

However, the court allowed the employer an equitable set-off for a $70,830 overpayment, resulting in no further compensation for the plaintiff.