Stanislav Fainzilberg

The plaintiff, Gerry VandePol, brought an action for wrongful dismissal against the defendant, Cowan Buick GMC Limited.

The defendant admitted dismissal without cause, leaving the notice period and mitigation as the main issues.

The court determined a reasonable notice period of 6 months, calculated at an annual salary of $50,000, after considering the plaintiff's age, length of service, position, and difficulty in finding comparable employment.

The court also found that the defendant failed to prove the plaintiff did not make adequate efforts to mitigate.

The plaintiff was awarded $19,974 after deducting termination pay.

The plaintiff brought a motion for summary judgment in a wrongful dismissal action, claiming constructive dismissal due to a temporary layoff after 23 years of employment.

The court found that the temporary layoff constituted constructive dismissal as there was no contractual right for the employer to implement such a layoff.

However, the court also found that the plaintiff failed to mitigate his damages by refusing a bona fide recall offer from the employer, which included assurances of no reprisals and substantially similar terms of employment.

The plaintiff's subjective belief of embarrassment or degradation was not objectively supported.

Consequently, the plaintiff's damages were limited to the period between the layoff and the recall offer.

The plaintiff moved for summary judgment alleging wrongful dismissal and breach of contract, arguing her employment was for a fixed term of one year.

The defendant contended it was an indefinite term.

The court found the employment contract, comprising an email and an attached agreement, clearly established a one-year fixed term.

Consequently, the plaintiff was entitled to damages for the unexpired term without mitigation.

The motion for summary judgment was granted.