Bester v. May (George S.) International Co.-Canada, (1998) 57 O.T.C. 45 (GD)

• Judge: Boland, J.
• Court: Ontario Court of Justice General Division (Canada)
• Case Date: March 20, 1998
• Jurisdiction: Ontario
• Citations: (1998), 57 O.T.C. 45 (GD)

Bester v. May Intl. Co.-Can. (1998), 57 O.T.C. 45 (GD)

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [1998] O.T.C. TBEd. AP.003

Denis Bester (plaintiff) v. George S. May International Company-Canada, a Division of George S. May International Company, a Delaware Corporation

(Court File No. 92-CU-49316)

Indexed As: Bester v. May (George S.) International Co.-Canada

Ontario Court of Justice

General Division

Boland, J.

March 20, 1998.

Summary:

The plaintiff was 44 years of age and had two years of technical college. He was employed by the defendant as a full-time executive analyst from February 1987 until October 5, 1991. The defendant provided consulting services to medium and small size companies. The plaintiff was paid bonuses, commissions and part-time salary. His average annual earnings were $55,000. The plaintiff estimated that he would have earned $70,000 in 1991 and $86,366 in 1992. The plaintiff sued the defendant for wrongful dismissal and monies owing for lost earnings and outstanding expenses.

The Ontario Court (General Division) held that the plaintiff was dismissed without cause. Given his age, his experience in a specialized type of work and his length of employment, the court held that the appropriate notice period was nine months. The court awarded the plaintiff $60,573 for lost wages and $7,852 for lost earnings and outstanding expenses.

Master and Servant - Topic 7502

Dismissal of employees - General principles - What constitutes dismissal or discharge (incl. constructive dismissal) - See paragraphs 1 to 23.

Master and Servant - Topic 8000

Dismissal without cause - Notice of dismissal - What constitutes reasonable notice - See paragraphs 1 to 24.

Counsel:

Sidney Klotz and Paul J. Silverstein, for the plaintiff;

Malcolm MacKillop and Matthew Certosimo, for the defendant.

This action was heard before Boland, J., of the Ontario Court (General Division), who released the following judgment on March 20, 1998.