Blair Curtis of Tevlin Gleadle successfully represented Ms. Beverley Maxwell in a summary trial hearing before Mr. Justice Skolrood of the British Columbia Supreme Court to decide her wrongful dismissal claim against the B.C. Government.
The full text of the judgment is available here.
Ms. Maxwell, who is 60 years old, had been a long term executive at the former B.C. College of Teachers. She had a written contract with the College that provided for two years of protection by way of severance pay in the event of her dismissal without cause.
In late 2011 and early 2012, the B.C. Government legislated the College out of existence. The Government absorbed the functions of the former College. Ms. Maxwell had serious concerns about how this transpired. The Government offered Ms. Maxwell a job to commence following the dissolution, but Ms. Maxwell declined that job, stating concerns about salary and benefits, among other important things.
The Government (which inherited the liabilities of the College) refused to pay Ms. Maxwell’s contractual severance. Their refusal rested on the technical argument that Ms. Maxwell’s contract referred to the “Registrar” in terms of dismissal, but in this case the dismissal occurred by act of the Legislature rather than the Registrar. The Government also insisted that Ms. Maxwell should have taken the job it offered to her.
The Court found in Ms. Maxwell’s favor, awarding her over $312,000 in damages, plus costs. The Court determined that the true intention of the contract was to provide Ms. Maxwell with severance in the event of a dismissal without cause. The use of “Registrar” in the contract did not limit the circumstances where she would be entitled to the severance.
The Court also followed the emerging line of cases in Canada, holding that a severance entitlement in a written contract is not subject to a duty to mitigate unless that duty is expressly stated. Accordingly, the Court did not need to consider whether Ms. Maxwell ought to have taken the Government job. She was absolutely entitled to the severance payment.
This case has already garnered significant media attention, including articles in “The Vancouver Sun” and the Huffington Post (please see the following links):