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Independent consultant awarded quantum meruit fees and punitive damages after abrupt termination.
The plaintiff consultant brought an action after being terminated one week into a six‑month consulting contract as research coordinator for a community health project.
The court found that a binding verbal consulting agreement had been formed despite the absence of a written contract.
Because the plaintiff was an independent contractor rather than an employee, the contract was terminable at will and damages were not the full contract value.
The court awarded compensation on a quantum meruit basis for six days of work performed and granted punitive damages due to the defendant’s harsh and deliberate manner of termination.
Directors' liability for unpaid wages requires strict compliance with statutory preconditions and limitation periods.
The plaintiff obtained a judgment for wrongful dismissal and unpaid commissions against his former employer, Westsun Show Systems Inc. Without attempting to execute the judgment, he brought a second action against the parent company's directors and officers, and former officers of the employer.
The trial judge found several directors liable for the wage debts and held a corporate representative personally liable for the costs of the first trial under the oppression remedy.
The Court of Appeal allowed the defendants' appeals, finding no duty on the corporate representative to disclose the lack of directors to an adverse party, and holding that the plaintiff failed to meet the strict statutory preconditions and limitation periods for directors' liability under the Manitoba Corporations Act.
The plaintiff's appeal and cross-appeal were dismissed.
