Athabasca Realty Co. v. Humeniuk and Humeniuk, (1983) 50 A.R. 131 (QB)

• Judge: Purvis, J.
• Court: Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta (Canada)
• Case Date: December 13, 1983
• Citations: (1983), 50 A.R. 131 (QB)

Athabasca Realty Co. v. Humeniuk (1983), 50 A.R. 131 (QB)

MLB headnote and full text

Athabasca Realty Company Limited v. Humeniuk and Humeniuk

(No. 96689)

Indexed As: Athabasca Realty Co. v. Humeniuk and Humeniuk

Alberta Court of Queen's Bench

Judicial District of Edmonton

Purvis, J.

December 13, 1983.

Summary:

An employee of Great Canadian Oil Sands (G.C.O.S.) purchased a house from Athabasca, a subsidiary of G.C.O.S., on the condition that if he ceased to be employed by G.C.O.S. within ten years he would resell the house to Athabasca for the amount of principal paid. The employee was dismissed after seven years and four months and refused to resell the property, submitting that he was wrongfully dismissed for refusing to relocate, and was therefore not required to resell. Athabasca commenced an action against the employee and his wife to enforce the contract provision requiring the sale.

The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench allowed the action and ordered that the property be resold, because the employee had been dismissed for just cause.

Master and Servant - Topic 1158

Contract of hiring - Implied terms - Respecting relocation or transfer - The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench held that it was an implied term in employment contracts with large national or international corporations that an employee would accept all regional transfers not involving a demotion - See paragraph 31.

Master and Servant - Topic 7565

Dismissal of employees - Grounds - Failure to relocate - An employer moved its payroll operations from Fort McMurray to Edmonton - An employee was dismissed after he refused to relocate to perform his same job - The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench held that the employee was dismissed for just cause, because there was an implied term in his employment contract that he would accept all regional transfers not involving a demotion - See paragraphs 16 to 38.

Cases Noticed:

Athabasca Realty Company Limited v. Graves et al. (1980), 23 A.R. 65; 11 Alta. L.R.(2d) 135, folld. [para. 6].

Birnbaum and Hyman v. Lamda Mercantile Corporation, [1977] 1 A.C.W.S. 394, refd to. [para. 28].

Cyr v. Assumption Mutual Life Insurance Co. (1971), 3 N.B.R.(2d) 456, refd to. [para. 29].

Durrant v. Westeel-Rosco Ltd., 7 B.C.L.R. 14, folld. [para. 31].

Page v. Jim Pattison Industries Ltd., [1982] 5 W.W.R. 97; 18 Sask.R. 125 (Sask. Q.B.), refd to. [para. 33].

Athabasca Realty Co. Ltd. v. Lee et al., 67 D.L.R.(3d) 272 (Alta. S.C.), refd to. [para. 35].

Authors and Works Noticed:

Harris, David, Wrongful Dismissal, pp. 24-25 [para. 28].

Counsel:

K.K. Wakefield, for Athabasca Company Ltd.;

Bradley Willis, for the defendants, Nick Humeniuk and Sarah Catherine Humeniuk;

B.M. Thompson, for Great Canadian Oil Sands Limited, defendants by counterclaim.

This case was heard before Purvis, J., of the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench, Judicial District of Edmonton, who delivered the following judgment on December 13, 1983: