Executive Summary: Key Legal and Evidentiary Issues

• Dispute centered on wrongful dismissal and entitlement to damages for breach of contract.

• Determination of whether the plaintiff was an employee or a dependent contractor entitled to reasonable notice.

• Assessment of whether the employment agreement was terminated or merely modified in December 2022.

• Calculation of damages, including unpaid wages, reasonable notice, and vacation pay.

• Evaluation of the plaintiff’s efforts to mitigate losses and the impact on damages.

• Consideration of the appropriateness of summary trial and evidentiary objections to late affidavits.

Facts and outcome of the case

Background and parties

Attila Hajdu brought a wrongful dismissal action against Triple Hair Group Inc. and Triple Hair Inc., a biotechnology company specializing in hair loss treatments. Mr. Hajdu began working for Triple Hair in February 2020 as Vice-President of Business Development and later became Chief Business Officer under a written agreement starting June 2020. His employment was terminated on May 1, 2023, when he was 56 years old.

Nature of the dispute

The dispute arose after Triple Hair reduced Mr. Hajdu’s salary in December 2022 due to financial difficulties. The company argued that Mr. Hajdu’s employment ended at that point and that he became a contractor, while Mr. Hajdu maintained that the employment agreement remained in force with only compensation terms modified. Mr. Hajdu sought damages for unpaid wages from December 2022 to May 2023, damages in lieu of reasonable notice, and accrued vacation pay.

Legal and evidentiary issues

The court considered whether the June 2020 employment agreement was terminated or merely modified, and whether Mr. Hajdu was an employee or a dependent contractor entitled to reasonable notice. The court also evaluated the appropriateness of summary trial, the admissibility of a late affidavit, and the sufficiency of Mr. Hajdu’s mitigation efforts after termination.

Court’s findings

The court found that the June 2020 agreement was not terminated in December 2022 and that Mr. Hajdu remained either an employee or a dependent contractor. The court determined that Triple Hair owed Mr. Hajdu $5,000 per month for the reduction in salary from December 2022 to April 2023. For the wrongful dismissal claim, the court held that Mr. Hajdu was entitled to eight months’ notice, amounting to $120,000, subject to mitigation. The court deducted $47,113.97 from this amount for income Mr. Hajdu earned as a realtor and Uber driver during the notice period. The court also awarded seven days of vacation pay, totaling $4,846.15.

Outcome and damages

The court ruled in favor of Attila Hajdu, awarding him $25,000 for unpaid wages, $72,886.03 for damages in lieu of reasonable notice (after mitigation), and $4,846.15 for accrued vacation pay, totaling $102,732.18. The court ordered the defendants to pay costs at Scale B, subject to any settlement offers that might affect the disposition of costs.