Steel v. Coast Capital Savings Credit Union, (2015) 369 B.C.A.C. 204 (CA)
Judge | Donald, Harris and Goepel, JJ.A. |
Court | Court of Appeal (British Columbia) |
Case Date | January 27, 2015 |
Jurisdiction | British Columbia |
Citations | (2015), 369 B.C.A.C. 204 (CA);2015 BCCA 127 |
Steel v. Coast Capital Savings (2015), 369 B.C.A.C. 204 (CA);
634 W.A.C. 204
MLB headnote and full text
Temp. Cite: [2015] B.C.A.C. TBEd. MR.055
Susan Steel (appellant/plaintiff) v. Coast Capital Savings Credit Union (respondent/defendant)
(CA040816; 2015 BCCA 127)
Indexed As: Steel v. Coast Capital Savings Credit Union
British Columbia Court of Appeal
Donald, Harris and Goepel, JJ.A.
March 20, 2015.
Summary:
The plaintiff was a Helpdesk analyst in the IT Department at the defendant Coast Capital Savings Credit Union. She was dismissed after she was found to have accessed without permission a confidential document in another employee's personal folder. The plaintiff sued for damages for wrongful dismissal. The defendant alleged just cause.
The British Columbia Supreme Court, in a decision reported at [2013] B.C.T.C. Uned. 527, found that the employer had just cause and dismissed the action. The plaintiff appealed.
The British Columbia Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, holding that the trial judge made no palpable and overriding error. Donald, J.A., dissenting, would have allowed the appeal and remitted the case for assessment of damages on the basis that the trial judge focussed on the plaintiff's misconduct to the exclusion of her employment history, and thus arrived at her conclusion regarding just cause without taking into account the plaintiff's 21 years of unblemished service.
Master and Servant - Topic 7563
Dismissal of employees - Grounds - Dishonesty - See paragraphs 18 to 36.
Cases Noticed:
McKinley v. BC Tel et al., [2001] 2 S.C.R. 161; 271 N.R. 16; 153 B.C.A.C. 161; 251 W.A.C. 161; 2001 SCC 38, appld. [paras. 2, 26].
National Bank of Canada v. Lepire (2004), 267 F.T.R. 138; 2004 FC 1555, refd to. [para. 14].
Rowe v. Royal Bank of Canada (1991), 38 C.C.E.L. 1 (B.C.S.C.), refd to. [para. 14].
Van den Boogaard v. Vancouver Pile Driving Ltd. (2014), 354 B.C.A.C. 228; 605 W.A.C. 228; 2014 BCCA 168, refd to. [para. 26].
Panton v. Everywoman's Health Centre Society (1988) (2000), 144 B.C.A.C. 179; 236 W.A.C. 179; 2000 BCCA 621, refd to. [para. 31].
Housen v. Nikolaisen et al., [2002] 2 S.C.R. 235; 286 N.R. 1; 219 Sask.R. 1; 272 W.A.C. 1; 2002 SCC 33, refd to. [para. 31].
Counsel:
J.A.S. Legh, for the appellant;
H.S. Delaney, for the respondent.
This appeal was heard at Victoria, B.C., on January 27, 2015, by Donald, Harris and Goepel, JJ.A., of the British Columbia Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal delivered the following decision at Vancouver, B.C., on March 20, 2015, which was comprised of the following opinions:
Donald, J.A., dissenting - see paragraphs 1 to 17;
Goepel, J.A. (Harris, J.A., concurring) - see paragraphs 18 to 36.
To continue reading
Request your trial-
O.W.L. (Orphaned Wildlife) Rehabilitation Society v. Day, 2018 BCSC 1724
...(B.C.S.C.); Panton v. Everywoman’s Health Centre Society (1988), 2000 BCCA 621 at para. 28; Steel v. Coast Capital Savings Credit Union, 2015 BCCA 127; Kerr v. Arpac Storage Systems Corp., 2018 BCSC 704 at para. 53. [142] In determining whether just cause has been established, the court mus......
-
Sankreacha v. Cameron J. and Beach Sales Ltd., 2018 ONSC 7216
...employee uses his credentials to access confidential information for personal purposes: see Steel v. Coast Capital Savings Credit Union, 2015 BCCA 127, 383 D.L.R. (4th) 481; Carias v. CIBC, 2003 BCSC 587. In this case, the employee surreptitiously installed spyware on the employer’s compute......
-
Manak v. Workers’ Compensation Board of British Columbia, 2018 BCSC 182
...In response, the defendant relies primarily on the following authorities.[72] In Steel v. Coast Capital Savings Credit Union, 2015 BCCA 127, the plaintiff had accessed a confidential document related to employer-issued parking passes without authorization, breaching workplace policy. The ma......
-
Thomas v Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority Inc.,
...is a question of mixed fact and law (Lau v Royal Bank of Canada, 2017 BCCA 253 at para 35; Steel v Coast Capital Savings Credit Union, 2015 BCCA 127 at para 31, 383 DLR (4th) 481). This means the applicable standard of review is one of palpable and overriding error, unless an extricable err......
-
O.W.L. (Orphaned Wildlife) Rehabilitation Society v. Day, 2018 BCSC 1724
...(B.C.S.C.); Panton v. Everywoman’s Health Centre Society (1988), 2000 BCCA 621 at para. 28; Steel v. Coast Capital Savings Credit Union, 2015 BCCA 127; Kerr v. Arpac Storage Systems Corp., 2018 BCSC 704 at para. 53. [142] In determining whether just cause has been established, the court mus......
-
Sankreacha v. Cameron J. and Beach Sales Ltd., 2018 ONSC 7216
...employee uses his credentials to access confidential information for personal purposes: see Steel v. Coast Capital Savings Credit Union, 2015 BCCA 127, 383 D.L.R. (4th) 481; Carias v. CIBC, 2003 BCSC 587. In this case, the employee surreptitiously installed spyware on the employer’s compute......
-
Thomas v Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority Inc.,
...is a question of mixed fact and law (Lau v Royal Bank of Canada, 2017 BCCA 253 at para 35; Steel v Coast Capital Savings Credit Union, 2015 BCCA 127 at para 31, 383 DLR (4th) 481). This means the applicable standard of review is one of palpable and overriding error, unless an extricable err......
-
Manak v. Workers’ Compensation Board of British Columbia, 2018 BCSC 182
...In response, the defendant relies primarily on the following authorities.[72] In Steel v. Coast Capital Savings Credit Union, 2015 BCCA 127, the plaintiff had accessed a confidential document related to employer-issued parking passes without authorization, breaching workplace policy. The ma......
-
2015 IN REVIEW A Look Back At The Top Cases And Key Legislative Changes That Impacted Your Workplace
...Recently, the sentence for Mr. Kazenelson was announced as 3.5 years of jail time. Read more here. Steel v Coast Savings Credit Union 2015 BCCA 127: In September, the Supreme Court denied leave to appeal from a decision where the British Columbia Court of Appeal upheld a just cause terminat......
-
BC Court Of Appeal Upholds Just Cause Termination For Long Service Employee Who Breached IT Policy
...workplace policies regarding the protection of private and confidential information. In Steel v. Coast Capital Savings Credit Union, 2015 BCCA 127 (CanLII), the Court of Appeal was asked to consider whether or not the judge at the summary judgment hearing had erred when she held that Ms. St......
-
Believe Me, Ontario Court Upholds Termination For Dishonesty
...constitute conduct going to the core of the employment relationship: McKinley, at para. 48; Steel v. Coast Capital Savings Credit Union, 2015 BCCA 127 (CanLII), at para. The Court noted that the context in which Mr. Aboagye misled AECL was significant due to the national security aspects of......
-
Employee With 21 Years Of Service Terminated For Single Violation of Privacy Policy
...a recent decision, Steel v. Coast Capital Savings Credit Union, 2015 BCCA 127, the B.C. Court of Appeal upheld the termination of a long service employee who was terminated for a single violation of the employer's privacy At the time of her termination, Ms. Steel was a 21 year employee of C......