Is deleting your browser history, so as to attempt to conceal the fact that you had visited "adult" websites, in the face of a court order to "preserve all records relevant to a lawsuit" “spoliation” of evidence?
That was one of the questions that the Honourable Mr. Justice Frank J. C. Newbould of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice was asked to resolve in the case of Catalyst Capital Group Inc. v Moyse, 2016 ONSC 5271.
The dirty secret of contract law is that a contract is only as good as a party’s ability to enforce it. Typically, this blog focuses on the legal ability of an employer to enforce certain elements of an employment contract; whether that element be termination provisions, about which I write frequently, or restrictive covenants, such as non-solicitation or non-competition agreements, about which I write much less frequently.
Putting legal considerations aside for a moment, there are also practical considerations in attempting to enforce contractual provisions, not the least of which is the element of cost.
In his reasons for decision in Accreditation Canada International v Guerra, 2016 ONSC 6184, the Honourable Justice Patrick Smith of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice sitting at Ottawa, highlights one of the main practical impediments to an employer attempting to enforce restrictive covenants: the cost.
Is “being reckless with the truth” as to whether a client has insurance coverage “just cause” for the termination of an insurance broker’s employment?
That was one of the questions that the Honourable Mr. Justice Ronald M. Laliberte Jr. was asked to resolve in the case of Cassell v. Irving H. Miller Limited, 2016 ONSC 5570.
Although the employer felt very strongly about having just cause for termination, Mr. Justice Laliberte saw things differently.
This post will break from tradition. Rather than be a post about something that has happened, it will be an anticipatory post about something that is expected to happen.
On September 6, 2016, the Court of Appeal for Ontario heard the appeal of the decision reached by Mr. Justice Grant Dow of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Wood v Fred Deeley Imports Ltd., 2016 ONSC 1412 (CanLII). Should the court choose to answer all of the questions put to it by the appellant, then I have no doubt that the decision will fundamentally alter the landscape of Ontario employment law.
UPDATE: On February 23, 2017, the Court of Appeal for Ontario released its much anticipated decision in Wood v. Fred Deeley Imports Ltd., 2017 ONCA 158 (CanLII). For analysis of that decision, see my post: Court of Appeal Finally Brings Much Needed Clarity to Issue of Benefits in Contractual Termination Provisions.
If being accused of breaking the law “takes a serious toll” on you, causing you “emotional upset”, can you successfully sue the person that caused that harm?
It is trite to observe that being accused of something that you did not do is likely to cause feelings of serious upset. In employment law, this scenario arises most frequently when an employer alleges “just cause” for the termination of an employee’s employment. But what do the courts have to say about this issue? Can someone sue for emotional upset?
In the case of 495793 Ontario Ltd. (Central Auto Parts) v. Barclay, 2016 ONCA 656, the Court of Appeal for Ontario confirmed that a plaintiff’s testimony of emotional upset, being unsupported by medical evidence, was insufficient to ground the substantial award of non-pecuniary damages made by the trial judge, the Honourable Regional Senior Justice Helen M. Pierce. (See reasons for decision reported at 2014 ONSC 3517.)
When is a non-solicitation provision in an employment contract actually a non-competition agreement? The answer is, when it prevents the employee from “accepting business from” any former corporate accounts or customers.
In a short endorsement, Donaldson Travel Inc. v. Murphy, 2016 ONCA 649, the Court of Appeal for Ontario confirmed an earlier decision of the Honourable Justice David A. Broad of the Superior Court of Justice, dismissing the plaintiff employer’s claims for breach of contract, misappropriation of confidential information, inducing breach of contract and interference with contractual relations against its former employee travel agent and her new travel agency employer.
If you are an employer and you are looking to hire one or more new employees for your company, let me explain to you why you should hire me first to prepare your company’s employment contracts: it will (almost assuredly) save you money.
I know it sounds contradictory that you can likely save money by hiring a lawyer to prepare your employment contract, for which there will be a very reasonable cost, but believe me it is true. Please allow me to explain – there is no charge for reading and if you are not convinced by the end of this post, you can move on to something else and it will not have cost you a dime.
