The plaintiff employee brought a motion for summary judgment claiming he was terminated without cause with 72 weeks remaining on a fixed-term employment contract.
He sought liquidated damages for the balance of the term, while leaving alternative claims regarding the validity of the termination clause for trial if unsuccessful.
The court dismissed the motion, finding that partial summary judgment was inappropriate in these circumstances.
Applying the principles from Butera and Hryniak, the court held that bifurcating the issues risked inconsistent findings at trial and would not serve the goals of proportionality, timeliness, and affordability.
