Resources: Litigation

  • Can I Quit and Start Competing: Dispute Born of Competing Fertility Clinics

    December 17, 2021

    by Kate DueckMike Hamata

    Genesis Fertility Inc. v. Yuzpe 2021 BCCA 420 has it all: intrigue, betrayal and even a “shotgun.” In addition, it has some useful takeaways for employers who are navigating employee relations in times of significant organizational change.

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    Can I Quit and Start Competing: Dispute Born of Competing Fertility Clinics
  • Arbitrators Consider Vaccination Policies

    December 7, 2021

    by Kate DueckChristopher Munroe

    In the past few weeks, arbitrators have begun to issue decisions considering the reasonableness of COVID-19 vaccination policies in unionized workplaces. The following three decisions out of Ontario provide some key takeaways for employers.

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    Arbitrators Consider Vaccination Policies
  • Challenges With Removing a Matter From Fast Track Litigation

    November 29, 2021

    by Kate DueckMike Hamata

    A matter may qualify for fast track litigation under Rule 15-1 of the B.C. Supreme Court Civil Rules if the plaintiff is seeking to recover less than $100,000 or the case can be tried within three days. Fast track litigation limits the recovery of legal costs to $11,000, unless the court orders otherwise.

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    Challenges With Removing a Matter From Fast Track Litigation
  • Employer Restructuring and Transitions: An Important Contextual Factor in Constructive Dismissals

    November 23, 2021

    by Andrew Peng

    In Costello v. ITB Marine Group Ltd., 2021 BCCA 154, the BC Court of Appeal upheld a trial judge’s finding that the plaintiff had not been constructively dismissed from her employment when some of her employment duties were changed as a result of her employer’s restructuring.

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    Employer Restructuring and Transitions: An Important Contextual Factor in Constructive Dismissals
  • When to Fight and When to Fold: A Cautionary Tale for Employers That Defend a Wrongful Dismissal Claim on “Principle”

    January 15, 2021

    by Jennifer Hogan

    How do you convince a client that wants to defend a wrongful dismissal claim of the fact that its claim of just cause for termination is devoid of legal merit?  You can start by showing it the reasons for decision in Hrynkiw v. Central City Brewers & Distillers Ltd., 2020 BCSC 1640, where the B.C. Supreme Court not only found in favour of the plaintiff but gave him everything he was asking for – including an order for costs.

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    When to Fight and When to Fold: A Cautionary Tale for Employers That Defend a Wrongful Dismissal Claim on “Principle”
  • Ontario Court of Appeal Refuses to Recognize Freestanding Tort of Harassment

    January 2020

    by Jordan Michaux

    In Merrifield v. Canada (Attorney General), 2019 ONCA 205, the plaintiff was a longstanding member of the RCMP who alleged that his supervisors had discriminated against him for years.  The strained relationship began when the plaintiff had run for public office.  He was considered to be in a potential conflict of interest following his investigation of threats against a political rival.

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    Ontario Court of Appeal Refuses to Recognize Freestanding Tort of Harassment
  • What Could Go Wrong When an Employer Rehires a Former Employee It Previously Terminated, Without Cause, But Under the Cloud of a Sexual Harassment Complaint?

    June 2019

    It’s surprising that the question in the title of this article even needs to be asked.  However, in the case of Colistro v. Tbaytel, 2019 ONCA 197 the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a lower court decision that considered just that scenario.  The Court of Appeal’s distaste for the Employer’s conduct is apparent from the opening words of the decision:

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    What Could Go Wrong When an Employer Rehires a Former Employee It Previously Terminated, Without Cause, But Under the Cloud of a Sexual Harassment Complaint?
  • Advancing Unfounded Just Cause Defence Leads To Large Damages Award

    May 2019

    by Maggie Campbell

    The B.C. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Bailey v. Service Corporation (Canada) ULC,  2018 BCSC 235 highlights the perils of advancing unfounded just cause allegations and a court’s willingness to sanction such conduct with substantial aggravated and punitive damages awards.

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    Advancing Unfounded Just Cause Defence Leads To Large Damages Award
  • BC Court of Appeal Confirms High Standard for Mental Distress Damages

    January 2019

    by Julia Bell

    An employee who believes they have been wrongfully dismissed from their employment can seek damages in court for both the fact of their dismissal and the manner in which they were dismissed.  In Cottrill v. Utopia Day Spas and Salons Ltd., 2018 BCCA 383, the Court of Appeal affirmed that there remains a high threshold in British Columbia for plaintiffs seeking mental distress damages.

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    BC Court of Appeal Confirms High Standard for Mental Distress Damages
  • “It Don’t Matter If You’re Black Or White”*… It’s Illegal to Discriminate

    December 2018

    In 1991, Michael Jackson’s hit single, “Black or White”, topped the Billboard Hot 100 just three weeks after its release.  Perhaps it was the universally positive anti-racism message, as much as the music itself that propelled its popularity.  Regardless, one would have thought that by 2018 it would have been well understood that the fact that an employee was white/Caucasian does not create a defence for an employer’s racist conduct.  Sadly, Spruce Hill Resort and Kin Wa Chan must not have been Michael Jackson fans.

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    “It Don’t Matter If You’re Black Or White”*… It’s Illegal to Discriminate