Dolter v. Media House Productions Inc. et al., 2002 SKCA 140

• Judge: Bayda, C.J.S., Gerwing and Sherstobitoff, JJ.A.
• Court: Court of Appeal (Saskatchewan)
• Case Date: December 09, 2002
• Jurisdiction: Saskatchewan
• Citations: 2002 SKCA 140;(2002), 227 Sask.R. 153 (CA)

Dolter v. Media House Productions (2002), 227 Sask.R. 153 (CA);

    287 W.A.C. 153

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2003] Sask.R. TBEd. JA.044

Media House Productions Inc. (defendant/appellant) v. Joan Ann Dolter (plaintiff/respondent)

(No. 550; 2002 SKCA 140)

Indexed As: Dolter v. Media House Productions Inc. et al.

Saskatchewan Court of Appeal

Bayda, C.J.S., Gerwing and Sherstobitoff, JJ.A.

December 9, 2002.

Summary:

Dolter sued the defendants for wrongful dismissal.

The Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench, in a decision reported at 220 Sask.R. 271, allowed the action against the first defendant and dismissed it against the second defendant, who was found to have acted solely as the first defendant's agent. The court assessed damages. The first defendant appealed.

The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal allowed the appeal.

Master and Servant - Topic 7607

Dismissal of employees - Defences - Release - Accord and satisfaction - Dolter worked for the province for 11 years - Her last position was with Sask Media, a provincial agency - It was offered for sale in 1989 - Dolter and 14 other employees acquired Sask Media, which became Productions Inc. - The sale contract provided for the continued employment of Dolter and others - Productions lost a major contract and in November 1998 Dolter was given two months' working notice - Dolter signed a release and then sued for wrongful dismissal - A trial judge set aside the release as unconscionable - The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal overturned the decision - The evidence did not show any significant inequality of bargaining position or that the contract was, in context, an unconscionable bargain "sufficiently divergent from community standards of commercial morality as to warrant it being set aside".

Releases - Topic 3403

Grounds of invalidity - Unconscionability -[See Master and Servant - Topic 7607 ].

Counsel:

Patrick N. McDonald, for the appellant;

Daniel Tapp, for the respondent.

This appeal was heard on December 9, 2002, by Bayda, C.J.S., Gerwing and Sherstobitoff, JJ.A., of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal. On the same date, Gerwing, J.A., delivered the following oral decision for the Court, which was released in writing on December 16, 2002.