Fiduciary Duties
Advertisement in trade magazine, launching of website establish prima facie breach of non-solicit agreement
In Hub International (Richmond Auto Mall) Ltd. v. Mendham, 2011 BCSC 1780, the BC Supreme Court found that a former employee's advertisement for his new marine insurance company in a trade magazine and the launching of his new company's website established a prima facie breach of the non-solicit agreement he had entered into with his former employer, Hub International.
Specifically, the court stated: read more »
Employer receives $11.4 million in damages for former employees wrongful resignation, breach of fiduciary duties
I'm extremely slow off the mark on reporting on this case, given that it was issued by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in September 2009.
However, the decision in GasTOPS Ltd. v. Forsyth, 2009 CanLII 66153 (ON S.C.) - which has been called "a treatise of judicial guidance on both wrongful resignation and who is a fiduciary, and the damages which from both" by one legal commentator - demands inclusion in the blog, even at this late date.
Briefly put, it saw an employer who sued four of its former employees for wrongful resignation and breach of fiduciary duties receive a damages award of $11.4 million. The employees had departed after giving only two weeks notice to set up/work in their own company, which competed with GasTOPS.
The judgment is apparently currently the subject of both an appeal and across-appeal. read more »
"Fiduciary Obligations of Former Employees in the Oil & Gas Industry"
Two lawyers at Blakes have published a memorandum that addresses "Fiduciary Obligations of Former Employees in the Oil & Gas Industry". The memo is undated but appears to have been written in 2007 or later, based on the cases cited.
"Employees Obligations to Their Employers"
Lauren M. Bernardi has written an article on, "Employees Obligations to Their Employers" (undated).
Ms. Bernardi is a a lawyer and human resource advisor with the Mississauga firm of Bernardi Human Resource Law.
Relationships that give rise to fiduciary obligations
In a previous post, I mentioned that Justice Rothstein of the Supreme Court of Canada spoke about fiduciary duties in the employment context at the "10th Annual Employment Summit" in Toronto.
Specifically, he referred to recent cases before the Court in which fiduciary duties had been alleged: RBC Dominion Securities Inc. v. Merrill Lynch Canada Inc., 2008 SCC 54 and Galambos v. Perez, 2009 SCC 48.
What type of relationships will give rise to fiduciary duties?
In the leading case of Lac Minerals Ltd. v. International Corona Resources Ltd., [1989] 2 S.C.R. 574, which is not an employment law case, the Supreme Court of Canada stated that relationships in which a fiduciary duties have been imposed generally, although not always, share three general characteristics: read more »
