The defendant moved to dismiss the plaintiff's wrongful dismissal action, arguing it was statute-barred under sections 97(2) and 97(4) of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) because the plaintiff had initially filed an ESA claim.
The plaintiff opposed, asserting "special circumstances" due to inadequate legal advice from his paralegal, leading him to withdraw the ESA claim shortly after the statutory two-week period.
The court exercised its inherent jurisdiction, finding special circumstances existed, including the plaintiff's lack of proper legal advice, prompt withdrawal of the ESA claim upon receiving proper counsel, lack of prejudice to the defendant, and no evidence of forum shopping or bad faith.
The defendant's motion was dismissed, allowing the plaintiff's civil action to proceed.