Ontario Court of Appeal
Ontario Court of Appeal refuses to recognize tort of negligent investigation against employer
The Ontario Court of Appeal refused to recognize the tort of negligent investigation against employer in Correia v. Canac Kitchens, 2008 ONCA 506. You can read a summary of the case in the July 4, 2008 issue of the Lawyer's Weekly found here.
Commissioned sales consultant operating through own corporation entitled to reasonable notice of termination
In Braiden v. La-Z-Boy Canada Limited, 2008 ONCA 464, the plaintiff, Braiden, had worked for La-Z-Boy Canada Limited for almost 23 years as a furniture sales consultant when La-Z-Boy ended the employment relationship.
Termination was effected pursuant to a 60-day notice provision in an agreement between La-Z-Boy and Gordon Braiden Sales Inc., a corporation owned by Braiden. The agreement expressly stated that Braiden was an "independent contractor".
The trial judge ruled that:
- given the extent of La-Z-Boy's control over Braiden's functions and activities, an employer/employee relationship existed between La-Z-Boy and Braiden.
- the 60-day notice provision in the agreement was null and void.
- the reasonable notice period was 20 months, in light of Braiden's age (53) and years of service to La-Z-Boy.
The Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge's decision.
Appeal Court finds outsourcing did not trigger severance provisions in Ontario's Employment Standards Act
In Abbott v. Bombardier Inc., 2007 ONCA 233, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that an outsourcing situation did not trigger the severance pay provisions in the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000.
In doing so, the court upheld the decision of the motion judge (2005 CanLII 63771 (ON S.C.)). The motion judge had determined that: read more »
"Tort Claims Against Third Parties in Wrongful Dismissal Actions"
Janice Payne and Aman Sidhu at law firm Nelligan O'Brien Payne in Ottawa have written a paper on "Tort Claims Against Third Parties in Wrongful Dismissal Actions" (November 2007). The paper was prepared for The Advocates' Society Annual Fall Convention. It addresses the following two tort claims:
- Tort of interference with business/economic relations; and
- Tort of inducing breach of contract.
"Vicarious Liability in Sexual Assault"
James C. Morton, at Steinberg Morton Frymer LLP, has written a paper on, "Vicarious Liability in Sexual Assault" (undated).
The paper discusses an employer's liability where an employee commits a sexual assault. In particular, it addresses the decision in Weingerl v. Seo, 2003 CanLII 13285 (ON S.C.), appeal allowed in part 2005 CanLII 21356 (ON C.A.).
Non-competition and non solicitation clauses in employment contracts
In Lyons v. Multari (2000), 3 C.C.E.L. (2d) 34, the Ontario Court of Appeal, citing the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in Elsley v. J.G. Collins Insurance Agencies Ltd., [1978] 2 S.C.R. 916, stated that, in an employment relationship context, only in "exceptional" cases will the courts enforce a non-competition clause if a non-solicitation clause would adequately protect the employer's interests . read more »
"Should An Employer Appeal An Employment Insurance Ruling"
"Should An Employer Appeal An Employment Insurance Ruling?" (March 31 2006 is the title of an article written by lawyer Stuart Rudner at Miller Thomson in Toronto.
In the article, Mr. Stuart states that the answer is "probably no'" to the following question:
If an employer dismisses an employee for just cause, and an employment insurance officer, board, or umpire decides that she was not guilty of misconduct and is therefore entitled to benefits, should the employer appeal that decision?
In addressing this issue, Mr. Rudner cites two Ontario decisions:
