Ontario's Court of Appeal recently upheld a trial decision
in which an employer's tactical pursuit of a just cause defence
and counterclaim backfired catastrophically and resulted in a
cumulative award of over $1 Million.
In Ruston v Keddco MFG (2011) Ltd, the plaintiff
was terminated from his position as President of the
corporation. The employer asserted just cause on the basis of
an alleged fraud. The employer threatened the plaintiff that
if he brought a wrongful dismissal claim, the employer would
counterclaim and make the proceedings very expensive.
When the plaintiff sued alleging wrongful dismissal, the
employer relied on the alleged fraud in defence and counterclaimed
for $1.75 Million in damages.
