Miguel Mangalindan

The defendant moved to dismiss the plaintiff's wrongful dismissal action, arguing the court lacked jurisdiction because the plaintiff was an employee covered by a collective agreement and the dispute should be resolved by a labour arbitrator.

The plaintiff argued he was misclassified as an independent contractor and his claim was rooted in a pre-employment contract.

The court dismissed the motion, finding it premature as the existence of a pre-employment agreement is a disputed factual issue that must be determined at trial, not on a pleadings motion.

The plaintiff brought a motion to strike the defendant's jury notice, which was served four and a half months after the close of pleadings.

The defendant argued that the plaintiff had acquiesced to the late jury notice by not formally objecting and by including it in the trial record.

The court found that the plaintiff had objected to the late notice via email and that including it in the trial record was an error of caution, not an admission.

Given the defendant's delay in seeking leave to file a late jury notice and the prejudice to the plaintiff, the court struck the jury notice and ordered the matter to proceed as a non-jury trial.