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ARTICLE · 19 JULY 2012

Jury Awards Punitive Damages

McCarthy Tétrault
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A jury in Prince George, British Columbia has awarded $573,000 in punitive damages to a terminated employee.

CanadaEmployment and HR
Earl Phillips
Earl Phillips
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Jury Awards Punitive Damages

A jury in Prince George, British Columbia has awarded $573,000 in punitive damages to a terminated employee.  It may be the highest such award in Canadian employment law history.

The employee had worked for Babine Forest Products for 34 years.  The company was acquired by Portland, Oregon based Hampton Lumber Mills in 2006.  The employee was then dismissed for cause without notice or compensation.

A jury trial does not result in reasons for decision, but it seems the jury was convinced that there was no cause for dismissal, that the employer had cooked up the cause excuse to avoid severance liability and that the employee suffered as a result.

In addition to the punitive damages, the employee was awarded $236,000 in damages for wrongful dismissal.

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