Gurlal Singh Kler

The plaintiff moved for default judgment in a wrongful dismissal action against her former employer.

The defendant's Statement of Defence had been struck in August 2022 due to the defendant's delaying tactics and misconduct.

The defendant appealed unsuccessfully and sought leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal for Ontario, which was also denied.

The defendant subsequently attempted to file a factum in response to the default judgment motion.

The court initially granted default judgment in the amount of $170,415.42 plus costs and disbursements.

Upon learning that the defendant's materials had not been before the court, the judge temporarily vacated the endorsement to consider the defendant's request for leave to make submissions.

The court ultimately dismissed the defendant's request for leave and reinstated the default judgment, finding that permitting submissions would constitute an abuse of process given the defendant's extensive history of delay, misconduct, and unsuccessful appeals.

The plaintiff moved for default judgment in a wrongful dismissal action against her former employer.

The defendant failed to respond to the Statement of Claim, resulting in deemed admissions of fact.

The court granted the motion for default judgment, awarding damages of $170,415.42 plus $6,879 in costs and disbursements, inclusive of HST.

The court determined that a six-month notice period was appropriate based on the plaintiff's age and length of service, and calculated damages based on monthly compensation of $18,883.34 and $60,000 in owed commissions, less amounts already paid.

The plaintiff, Adam Papp, brought a claim for wrongful dismissal, defamation, and other damages against his former employer, Stokes Economic Consulting Inc., and its president, Ernest Stokes.

The defendants conceded wrongful dismissal without cause, disputing only the quantum of reasonable notice.

The court found that Ernest Stokes' statements made during a reference check, which led to Papp being denied a job, were substantially true and protected by qualified privilege, as Stokes did not act with malice or recklessness.

Consequently, the defamation claim and associated damages were dismissed.

The court awarded Papp four months' reasonable notice for wrongful dismissal, reduced by payments already received.

The defendant, Ericsson Canada Inc., brought a motion to dismiss or, alternatively, stay the plaintiff's action and compel arbitration of a dispute concerning unpaid commissions under a Sales Incentive Plan (SIP).

The plaintiff, Dahl Morrison, argued the arbitration clause was not binding, that Ontario law governed his employment, and that arbitration in Texas would be inconvenient and expensive, especially given other claims for wrongful dismissal.

The court found the SIP's arbitration clause to be clear and mandatory, requiring disputes arising from the plan to be settled by final and binding arbitration in Dallas, Texas.

Citing Section 7 of the Arbitration Act, 1991, and Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence, the court ruled that the existence of a valid arbitration agreement ousted the court's jurisdiction.

The motion was granted, the Ontario action was stayed, and the plaintiff was directed to proceed with arbitration.

An employee brought a wrongful dismissal claim after her employment as a clinical trials coordinator was terminated without cause after more than eight years of service.

The court determined the effective working notice period was 6.5 weeks because the employer’s revised termination letter replaced the original notice, resetting the notice date.

Applying the Bardal factors, including the employee’s age (64), length of service, professional responsibilities, and limited availability of comparable employment, the court fixed reasonable notice at ten months.

The employer argued the employee failed to mitigate by not applying for hospital nursing positions, but the court held the employer failed to prove on a balance of probabilities that additional efforts would likely have resulted in higher income.

Damages were awarded after deducting mitigation income.