Martyn Siek

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the appeal of Gavin Bertsch from the Superior Court’s dismissal of his wrongful dismissal action against Datastealth Inc. The court upheld the enforceability of the employment agreement’s termination provision, which limited Bertsch’s entitlements on termination to the minimum requirements under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA).

The court found the clause to be unambiguous and compliant with the ESA, precluding any claim for common law damages.

Costs of $10,000 were awarded to the respondent.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed an appeal by DeFi Technologies Inc. against an order awarding Zach Justein and Joseph Weinberg 750,000 share options.

The options were granted by a unanimous board resolution, but later cancelled by management on the grounds that the recipients were not "consultants" under the stock option plan.

The application judge found that the board had the authority to determine eligibility and that the cancellation constituted a breach of contract and an oppression remedy.

The Court of Appeal affirmed that the board's resolution made the respondents eligible, their reasonable expectations were defeated, and the damages calculation was appropriate, noting that the respondents were not required to attempt to exercise options after the agreement's repudiation.