Weston Powell

The plaintiff, a long-term shift leader at a City of Toronto homeless shelter, was terminated for cause following allegations that he stole maintenance fees from vulnerable clients and issued fraudulent receipts.

The plaintiff sued for wrongful dismissal.

The Superior Court of Justice found that the employer's investigation was deeply flawed, relied on false assumptions, and failed to prove theft or fraud on a balance of probabilities.

While the plaintiff erred in issuing two receipts to calm a client in crisis, this misconduct did not warrant dismissal.

The court awarded 18 months' reasonable notice, plus $65,000 in Wallace/Keays damages for the employer's unfair, insensitive, and bad faith conduct during the dismissal process, which caused the plaintiff mental distress and prolonged financial loss.

The defendant brought a motion under section 137.1 of the Courts of Justice Act to dismiss the plaintiff's defamation action.

The action arose from Facebook posts made by the defendant alleging workplace harassment and poor business practices by the plaintiff travel agency following a dispute with a former employee.

The court found that while the expression related to a matter of public interest, the plaintiff's claim had sufficient merit and the harm suffered was serious enough that the public interest in allowing the action to proceed outweighed the public interest in protecting the expression.

The motion was dismissed.