Holly Gomes

Following an eight-day trial where the plaintiff obtained judgment for $187,000 plus prejudgment interest, the parties submitted written arguments on costs.

The plaintiff sought partial indemnity costs to the date of his Offer to Settle and substantial indemnity costs thereafter, arguing his Offer was more favourable than the judgment.

The defendant contended that substantial indemnity costs were unwarranted due to the dismissal of the plaintiff's claims for aggravated, punitive, and special damages.

The court found the plaintiff's Offer to Settle complied with Rule 49 and was more favourable, entitling him to partial indemnity costs to the offer date and substantial indemnity thereafter.

Despite insufficient detail in both parties' costs submissions, the court fixed the plaintiff's costs at $145,000 inclusive of disbursements and HST, plus prejudgment interest at 0.8%.

The plaintiff, a 60-year-old Senior Product Designer with 20 years of service, was summarily dismissed for cause following a co-worker's complaint of inappropriate comments.

The employer concluded the comments were harassing and required the plaintiff to undergo training and apologize.

After the plaintiff, through counsel, agreed to training but refused an apology admitting wrongdoing, the employer terminated his employment for "irreparable breakdown in the employment relationship," citing inappropriate comments, lack of remorse, and insubordination.

The court found that the plaintiff's conduct did not justify summary termination for cause, noting the employer's apparent motivation was the plaintiff consulting a lawyer rather than the alleged harassment.

The court awarded the plaintiff 20 months' notice in damages, declining to reduce for mitigation given the specialized field and lack of employer support, and denied aggravated or punitive damages.