Furey v. Nova Scotia (Attorney General), (1995) 144 N.S.R.(2d) 58 (SC)

• Judge: Boudreau, J.
• Court: Supreme Court of Nova Scotia (Canada)
• Case Date: July 19, 1995
• Jurisdiction: Nova Scotia
• Citations: (1995), 144 N.S.R.(2d) 58 (SC)

Furey v. N.S. (A.G.) (1995), 144 N.S.R.(2d) 58 (SC);

  416 A.P.R. 58

MLB headnote and full text

Ignatius Edward Furey (plaintiff) v. The Attorney General of Nova Scotia, representing Her Majesty the Queen, in Right of the Province of Nova Scotia (defendant)

(S.H. No. 94-101723)

Indexed As: Furey v. Nova Scotia (Attorney General)

Nova Scotia Supreme Court

Boudreau, J.

July 19, 1995.

Summary:

Furey was appointed to the Nova Scotia Lottery Commission for a term of seven years. Seven months later, Furey was sum­marily dismissed by a successor government. Furey sued the Province of Nova Scotia for wrongful dismissal.

The Nova Scotia Supreme Court gave judgment for Furey.

Contracts - Topic 8163

Statute of Frauds - Contracts within stat­ute - Agreement not to be performed within a year - Requirement of writing - In February of 1993, Furey was appointed to the Nova Scotia Lottery Commission by Order-in-Council for a term of seven years - Fol­lowing a change of govern­ment, Furey's appoint­ment was terminated in July of 1993 - Furey sued the Crown for wrongful termi­nation - The Gaming Act was pro­claimed in April of 1995 - That Act repealed the Lottery Act and dissolved the Lottery Commission - The Crown sub­mitted that Furey's appointment was at pleasure - Also, there was no com­pliance with s. 7 of the Statute of Frauds which required con­tracts longer than one year to be in writing - The Nova Scotia Supreme Court held that the Order-in-Council was sufficient to satisfy the Stat­ute of Frauds - See paragraphs 25 and 26.

Crown - Topic 1087

Contracts with Crown - Employment contracts - Power to dismiss - [See Crown - Topic 5126 ].

Crown - Topic 5126

Officials and employees - Appointment and employment - Appointment at pleas­ure - What constitutes - The Lottery Act of Nova Scotia created the Lottery Com­mission - In February of 1993, Furey was appointed to the Commission by Order-in-Council for a term of seven years ($22,500 per year) - Following a change of government, Furey's appointment was terminated in July of 1993 - Furey sued the Crown for wrongful termination and claimed remuneration for the unexpired portion of the seven years - The Gaming Act was proclaimed in April of 1995 - That Act repealed the Lottery Act and dissolved the Lottery Commission - The Crown submitted that Furey's appointment was at pleasure, regardless of what the Order-in-Council said - The Nova Scotia Supreme Court held that Furey was entitled to his salary until the Commission was dissolved in April of 1995 ($38,625).

Crown - Topic 5129

Officials and employees - Appointment and employment - Termination of em­ployment - Compensation - [See Crown - Topic 5126 ].

Cases Noticed:

Petryshyn et al. v. Canada (1993), 65 F.T.R. 38 (T.D.), refd to. [para. 30].

Reilly v. Canada, [1934] 1 D.L.R. 434 (P.C.), refd to. [para. 30].

Statutes Noticed:

Gaming Control Act, S.N.S. 1994-5, c. 4, sect. 128 [para. 13]; sect. 128(4), sect. 128(5), sect. 128(6), sect. 128(7) [para. 31]; sect. 129 [para. 13].

Interpretation Act, R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 235, sect. 17 [para. 16].

Lottery Act, R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 266, sect. 3(2) [para. 18].

Statute of Frauds, R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 442, sect. 7(e) [para. 25].

Counsel:

John G. Furey, for the plaintiff;

Reinhold M. Endres, Q.C., for the defend­ant.

This case was heard on July 17 and 18, 1995, at Halifax, Nova Scotia, before Boud­reau, J., of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, who delivered the following oral judgment on July 19, 1995, with written reasons released on September 7, 1995.