K. Armagon

The plaintiff brought a wrongful dismissal action arising from the closure of automobile dealerships after General Motors discontinued franchise relationships.

He alleged inducement, common employer liability, unpaid bonus and salary amounts, disability-related entitlements, intentional infliction of mental suffering, and aggravated and punitive damages.

The court rejected the plaintiff's evidence on most disputed facts, found no common employer relationship, no unpaid bonus entitlement, no compensable mental suffering, and no basis for aggravated or punitive damages.

Applying the Bardal factors, and taking into account an undertaking that prior seniority would be recognized, the court awarded 20 weeks of pay in lieu of notice, less statutory amounts already paid and mitigation income earned during the notice period.

Following the dismissal of the plaintiff's action for survivor pension benefits, the successful defendant sought costs of over $160,000.

The court found the defendant's claimed time and trial preparation to be exorbitant and noted that the defence's presentation at trial was inefficient and disorganized.

Applying the principle of proportionality and considering a Rule 49 offer to settle, the court fixed the defendant's costs at $72,353.96.

A wrongful dismissal action proceeded by summary judgment to determine whether the employee failed to mitigate her damages by declining a new employment offer from a successor firm.

The employee, a long‑term administrative staff member, sought clarification and attempted to negotiate aspects of the proposed contract, including salary, probation, vacation restrictions, and other materially different terms.

The employer argued the refusal to accept an equivalent position defeated mitigation.

The court held that the burden to prove failure to mitigate rests with the employer and was not met because the proposed employment contained materially less favourable terms and the employee acted reasonably in seeking clarification and negotiation.

Summary judgment was granted and damages for reasonable notice were awarded.