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.
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O.W.L. (Orphaned Wildlife) Rehabilitation Society v. Day, 2018 BCSC 1724
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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......
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Thomas v Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority Inc.,
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