Greg McGinnis

The applicant sought a review of a motion judge's decision that dismissed her motion to extend the time to perfect her motion for leave to appeal from a Divisional Court order.

The Divisional Court had dismissed her application for judicial review of a Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario decision.

The Court of Appeal found no error in the motion judge's decision, noting unacceptable delay and lack of merit in the proposed appeal, as the underlying Human Rights Tribunal decision was fact-based and the Divisional Court found no question of law warranting intervention.

The review motion was dismissed.

The plaintiff sought summary judgment in his wrongful dismissal action against his former employers after 22 years of service.

The court determined the reasonable notice period, bonus entitlement, benefits compensation, and vacation pay, and assessed the plaintiff's mitigation efforts.

The court found a 24-month notice period appropriate, awarded bonuses based on actual corporate performance during the notice period, and set a value for lost benefits.

It clarified that discretionary bonuses, while compensable as part of damages, do not constitute "wages" for statutory vacation pay purposes.

The court dismissed the defendants' argument regarding the plaintiff's failure to mitigate, finding his efforts reasonable.

The appellants (defendants at trial) appealed a judgment that awarded damages to the respondent (plaintiff at trial) for breach of a fixed-term independent contractor agreement.

The Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge's finding that the contract was clear and unambiguous, including the 72-month fixed term and the absence of a termination clause.

However, the Court found that the trial judge erred in holding that independent contractors do not have a duty to mitigate damages, distinguishing them from employees in fixed-term contracts.

Despite this error, the appeal was dismissed because the appellants failed to meet their burden of proving that the respondent did not mitigate his damages.

The plaintiff in a wrongful dismissal action brought a motion seeking court-ordered finalization of a discovery plan after the parties failed to agree.

The court reviewed the history of the parties' negotiations and the general principles applicable to discovery plans under Rule 29.1.

The court finalized the discovery plan, incorporating specific reservations from the defendant regarding the scope of documentary discovery, and set deadlines for productions and oral examinations.

Costs of the motion were awarded to the plaintiff.

This is an appeal from a trial judgment awarding damages in lieu of notice for termination from employment.

The appellant challenged the trial judge's assessment of the respondent’s reasonable notice period, entitlement to a bonus payment during the notice period, and the inclusion of disbursements from a mandatory mediation in the costs award.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding no palpable or overriding error in the trial judge's application of Bardal factors or the inclusion of pro-rata bonus entitlement.

The court also affirmed that expenses for mandatory mediation, even with a non-roster mediator, are properly included as disbursements in a costs award.

The plaintiffs brought a motion for an interlocutory injunction to restrain their former employee, the defendant, from competing, soliciting clients or employees, and using confidential information.

The court applied the RJR-MacDonald test and found that the plaintiffs failed to establish irreparable harm, as their allegations were based on suspicion rather than clear evidence.

The balance of convenience also heavily favoured the defendant.

The motion was dismissed, and the plaintiffs were ordered to pay the defendant's costs of $40,000.

Following a trial where the plaintiff was awarded 10 months' reasonable notice for wrongful dismissal, the court determined the issue of costs.

The plaintiff sought costs on a combined partial and substantial indemnity basis, capped at $56,500 under Rule 76.12.2(1) for Simplified Procedure actions.

The defendant argued for a lower amount.

The court fixed costs at $50,000 inclusive of taxes, plus $4,560.28 for disbursements, noting the straightforward nature of the case and the defendant's refusal to accept the plaintiff's reasonable offers to settle.

The plaintiff, a 47-year-old Director of Marketing and Communication, sued for wrongful dismissal after his employment was terminated without cause after nearly three years of service.

The court found the termination clause in his employment agreement void under the Employment Standards Act.

Considering the Bardal factors and the negative impact of the global pandemic on the plaintiff's ability to secure alternate employment, the court awarded 10 months' reasonable notice.

Claims for bad faith damages regarding a damaged USB stick were dismissed, and the court found no failure to mitigate.

The plaintiff, a 61-year-old professional engineer, brought a motion for summary judgment in a wrongful dismissal action against his employer of approximately 26 years.

The court determined that despite a brief break in service where the plaintiff acted as an independent consultant, his employment should be viewed holistically.

Applying the Bardal factors, the court awarded a 24-month notice period, subject to a two-week contingency deduction for future mitigation.

The court declined to award damages for lost bonuses, finding no evidence that bonuses would likely be paid during the notice period due to the pandemic.

The plaintiff brought a motion for a discovery plan and directions on the scope of documentary discovery in an action regarding unpaid employment bonuses.

The plaintiff sought extensive production of documents and correspondence to support his claim that his bonus should be based on revenue generated by his entire team, rather than just his direct sales.

The court found that while the defendant's approach to relevance was too narrow, many of the plaintiff's requests were overly broad and disproportionate.

The court ordered the defendant to produce specific, targeted data regarding team-generated revenue and limited correspondence, while dismissing the broader requests.

Success was divided, and no costs were awarded.

The appellant was wholly unsuccessful on appeal.

The respondent sought partial indemnity costs of $8,301.47 including HST for the appeal.

The court, considering Rule 57.01 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, found the requested costs to be fair, reasonable, and proportionate, and ordered the appellant to pay them forthwith to the respondent.

The defendant, Promark Electronics Inc., appealed a Master's interlocutory order requiring it to produce financial documents (including financial statements and sales records for 2002-2016) and answer related questions on examinations for discovery.

The underlying action involved a claim by the plaintiff, Sanford Gray, for wrongful termination by constructive dismissal, alleging a unilateral reduction in his compensation package.

Promark's defence asserted an implied term in the employment agreement allowing it to vary compensation based on business objectives and economic circumstances, specifically profitability and sales diversification.

The Master found the requested financial documentation relevant to test Promark's defence and the plaintiff's counter-allegations regarding the true reasons for the compensation change.

The Superior Court upheld the Master's decision, finding no error of law, mixed fact and law, or fact, concluding that the financial information was relevant to the pleaded issues and that the Master's proportionality assessment was appropriate.

The plaintiff in a wrongful dismissal action moved for a further and better affidavit of documents and to compel answers to questions refused at discovery.

The plaintiff alleged constructive dismissal after the defendant unilaterally reduced his compensation package.

The defendant claimed it had unfettered discretion to vary the commission structure based on business realities, including profitability.

The court found the defendant's financial records relevant to test its claim regarding business realities and ordered production of financial books and records from 2000 to 2016.

The court also ordered the defendant's representative to answer most of the refused discovery questions, finding them relevant to the profit margin issue.

The plaintiff was awarded $8,000 in partial indemnity costs.

The defendants sought leave to appeal an order dismissing their motion for partial summary judgment and ordering document production.

The leave motion was dismissed, and the court invited written submissions on costs.

The court awarded costs to the successful responding party, finding the requested amount of $6,535.95 to be proportional and reasonable.

The moving party was ordered to pay the costs forthwith.

The plaintiff, David W. Ernewein, brought motions for production of documents and leave to amend his Statement of Claim, while the defendant, Honda of Canada Mfg., brought a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff's retroactive overtime pay claim as statute-barred.

The court dismissed Honda's summary judgment motion, finding a genuine issue for trial regarding the discoverability of the overtime claim and the application of the Limitations Act.

The court granted Ernewein's motions for production of the termination review document (finding no solicitor-client or litigation privilege), material facts of witness statements, and payroll records, and also granted leave to amend the Statement of Claim to plead discoverability and fraudulent concealment.

The defendants, Workplace Health & Cost Solutions (WHCS) and The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), brought motions to strike the plaintiff, Dr. Brenda Steinnagel's, statement of claim for disclosing no reasonable cause of action or for being scandalous, frivolous, or vexatious.

The plaintiff alleged wrongful dismissal, economic torts, conspiracy, and fraudulent conduct, claiming the defendants orchestrated her termination for refusing to alter medical opinions to deny claimant benefits.

The court dismissed both motions, finding that the statement of claim, read generously, sufficiently pleaded the causes of action, including unlawful interference with economic relations, inducing breach of contract, and unlawful act conspiracy.

The court held it was not plain and obvious that the action could not succeed and that allegations of fraudulent conduct were relevant to the context of dismissal and potential punitive damages.

The plaintiff brought a motion for summary judgment in a wrongful dismissal action.

He claimed he was induced to leave his previous employment and sought 12 months' notice, along with compensation for a discretionary bonus.

The court found no inducement, as the plaintiff actively sought the position and negotiated his terms.

The court awarded 4.5 months' reasonable notice, considering his age, position, short tenure, and the time of year he was terminated.

The claim for bonus damages was dismissed because the bonus plan was purely discretionary and required active employment at year-end.

The plaintiff was also awarded mitigation expenses and health benefits, subject to deductions for earnings from his new employment.

The plaintiff, a senior manager at an accounting firm, was terminated for cause following allegations of improper expense claims.

The court found that while the plaintiff had previously been reprimanded for defacing receipts, his subsequent conduct did not involve concealment and did not justify termination without notice.

The court awarded 10 months' reasonable notice and outstanding bonuses.

However, the court dismissed the plaintiff's claim for overtime pay under the Employment Standards Act, finding that his role was supervisory and managerial in character, thus exempting him from overtime entitlements.