Regan v. Chaleur Entrepreneurship Centre Inc., (1994) 154 N.B.R.(2d) 361 (TD)

• Judge: McIntyre, J.
• Court: Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick (Canada)
• Case Date: October 20, 1994
• Jurisdiction: New Brunswick
• Citations: (1994), 154 N.B.R.(2d) 361 (TD)

Regan v. Chaleur Entrepreneur. (1994), 154 N.B.R.(2d) 361 (TD);

    154 R.N.-B.(2e) 361; 395 A.P.R. 361

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[French language version follows English language version]

[La version française vient à la suite de la version anglaise]

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Danny Regan (plaintiff) v. Chaleur Entrepreneurship Centre Inc. (defendant)

(B/C/284/93)

Indexed As: Regan v. Chaleur Entrepreneurship Centre Inc.

New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench

Trial Division

Judicial District of Bathurst

McIntyre, J.

October 27, 1994.

Summary:

The plaintiff sued his former employer for wrongful dismissal.

The New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench, Trial Division, allowed the action and awarded judgment for the plaintiff.

Master and Servant - Topic 7515

Dismissal of employees - Probationary employees - The plaintiff was hired as the defendant's executive director on a proba­tionary basis for a six month period - Following a performance evaluation nine months later, the plaintiff was dismissed for incompetence - The plaintiff sued for wrongful dismissal - The defendant employer argued that the plaintiff was employed as a probationary employee and could not be considered permanent until an evaluation was done - The New Bruns­wick Court of Queen's Bench, Trial Divi­sion, stated that "if the plaintiff was still a probationary employee, he was nonetheless entitled to a 'fair, honest and valid assess­ment of his competence'" - See paragraph 11.

Master and Servant - Topic 7904

Dismissal without cause - Circumstances when dismissal not justified - The plaintiff was hired by the defendant on a temporary basis doing mainly accounting work and was subsequently hired as executive direc­tor on a six month probationary basis - Nine months later, the plaintiff attended a meeting to evaluate his performance - Certain complaints were discussed, includ­ing the plaintiff's lateness for work, his making of personal long distance calls and his expenditures for tea, coffee, etc. for staff - Following the evaluation, the plain­tiff was dismissed for incompetence - The New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench, Trial Division, held that the plaintiff was dismissed without just cause - The defen­dant did not establish that it conducted a fair, honest and valid assessment and that it afforded a reasonable opportunity to respond to the complaints - See para­graphs 1 to 13.

Master and Servant - Topic 8000

Dismissal without cause - Notice of dis­missal - What constitutes reasonable notice - The plaintiff had 20 years' ex­peri­ence as an accountant and bookkeeper - In June 1991 he began work for a non­profit organization (the Centre) on a tem­porary basis, working mainly in accounting - In October 1991, the Centre hired the plaintiff as executive director on a six month pro­bationary basis - He was dis­missed ap­proximately nine months later and sued for wrongful dismissal - He submitted that he was entitled to notice comparable to that given to employees in senior executive positions, ie. at least six months - The New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench, Trial Division, allowed the action, but held that nine weeks' salary in lieu of notice was reasonable - The plain­tiff was in reality the manager of a very small nonprofit organization and had little auth­ority - See paragraphs 14 to 19.

Cases Noticed:

Beal v. Grant (1984), 52 N.B.R.(2d) 163; 137 A.P.R. 163 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 11].

Roy v. B.N.P.P. Regional Police Commis­sion (1986), 72 N.B.R.(2d) 19; 183 A.P.R. 19 (T.D.), refd to. [para. 11].

Tomer v. New Brunswick Native Indian Women's Council Inc. (1988), 91 N.B.R.(2d) 35; 232 A.P.R. 35 (T.D.), refd to. [para. 11].

Johnson v. Moncton Chrysler Dodge (1980) Ltd. (1991), 114 N.B.R.(2d) 192; 289 A.P.R. 192 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 15].

Bardal v. Globe & Mail Ltd., [1960] O.W.N. 253 (H.C.), refd to. [para. 15].

Perkins v. Saint John Shipbuilding Ltd. (1989), 92 N.B.R.(2d) 344; 236 A.P.R. 344 (C.A.), consd. [para. 17].

Duplessis v. Irving Pulp & Paper Ltd., J.D. Irving Ltd. and Irving (1983), 47 N.B.R.(2d) 11; 124 A.P.R. 11 (C.A.), consd. [para. 17].

Counsel:

David B. Brown, for the plaintiff;

Craig J. Carleton, for the defendant.

This case was heard on October 20, 1994, at Bathurst, New Brunswick, before McIn­tyre, J., of the New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench, Trial Division, Judicial District of Bathurst, who delivered the fol­lowing judgment on October 27, 1994.