Executive Summary: Key Legal and Evidentiary Issues

• Plaintiff successfully argued wrongful dismissal, receiving substantial damages for lack of reasonable notice.

• Defendant’s allegations of just cause were mostly unfounded, affecting both damages and cost consequences.

• Vacation pay and aggravated damages were awarded due to the employer’s unreasonable litigation conduct.

• The court rejected special costs but granted increased costs for parts of the proceeding involving meritless allegations.

• Set-off for severance paid and a pending deduction for rental income were ordered to reduce the total award.

• Costs were increased to 1.5× Scale B but only for specific litigation stages tied to unfounded claims.

Facts and outcome of the case

The plaintiff, Bradley Hoem, brought a wrongful dismissal action against his former employer, Macquarie Energy Canada Ltd., after being terminated without notice. The central issue at trial was whether Macquarie had just cause to terminate Mr. Hoem’s employment, and if not, what compensation was owed. Macquarie alleged several grounds for just cause, including unauthorized remote work, cannabis use during work hours, unapproved discounting of client pricing, and improper disclosure of confidential information. Many of these allegations were later withdrawn or abandoned during the litigation process.

The court found that Mr. Hoem was wrongfully dismissed and entitled to compensation in lieu of reasonable notice. The just cause allegations made by Macquarie were either unproven, exaggerated, or unsupported by sufficient evidence. The claim relating to remote work was found to be based on a misunderstanding, and the cannabis use allegation ultimately referred only to CBD products, not impairing substances. The pricing issue lacked proof of intention or loss, and the confidentiality allegation was unsupported by the documents relied upon.

As a result, the court awarded Mr. Hoem $836,424 in damages for reasonable notice, $106,329 in vacation pay, and $35,000 in aggravated damages, reflecting the emotional harm caused by Macquarie’s unreasonable conduct. However, these amounts were subject to deductions: $100,000 for severance already paid and a further deduction to be calculated for rental income earned during the notice period.

In addition to damages, the court ruled on the issue of litigation costs. Although Mr. Hoem requested special costs, arguing that Macquarie’s conduct was reprehensible, the court found that while the employer acted unreasonably, its behaviour did not rise to the threshold required for special costs. Instead, increased costs at 1.5 times Scale B were awarded but limited to specific units of the proceeding related to three unfounded allegations: the cannabis use, the pricing to Richmond Steel, and the alleged disclosure of confidential information.

The court declined to award punitive damages, finding that Macquarie’s actions did not constitute a marked departure from ordinary standards of decency or rise to the level of bad faith. Both parties were ordered to bear their own costs for the application on costs, and the increased costs award is to be assessed separately according to the applicable tariff.