Erica Toews

The appellant employer appealed a jury verdict finding it liable for malicious prosecution and awarding over $2 million in damages to a former employee and his wife.

The employer had provided police with surveillance video allegedly showing the employee stealing money, but deliberately withheld exculpatory portions of the video that corroborated the employee's innocent explanation.

The employee was convicted, fired, and lost his grievance arbitration before the exculpatory evidence was discovered, leading to his convictions being quashed.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the employer's arguments that the claim fell within the exclusive jurisdiction of a labour arbitrator and that it had not 'initiated' the prosecution.

The Court upheld the jury's significant awards for general, aggravated, and punitive damages, finding them justified by the employer's callous and malicious conduct over a 13-year period.

A cross-appeal regarding costs was also dismissed.

The appellant town appealed a motion judge's decision that claims made against it in a construction dispute were excluded from its insurance coverage.

The underlying action alleged misrepresentations in a tender bid, breach of contract, and breach of a duty of good faith.

The Court of Appeal applied the three-step process from Scalera to determine the true nature of the claims.

The court found that the essential character of the claims related to the tender process and contractual performance, which were unambiguously excluded under the policy.

The appeal was dismissed.