Topic: Blog

Remedial Flexibility Rescues Claim for Breach of Confidence

Skycope Technologies Inc. v. Jia, 2023 BCSC 1288 The law provides for a broad range of remedies to address breach of confidence. In a recent decision where the plaintiff had not established any financial loss, the B.C. Supreme Court opted for disgorgement of a large sale by the defendants as…
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Privacy Rights, Damage Assessments and the Importance of Pleadings

Several recent decisions are of interest to those advising on, and litigating, employee competition cases. First, the Alberta privacy commissioner finds that employers, in some circumstances, may disclose their former employees’ restrictive covenants to third parties. Two Alberta Courts provide analysis on assessing damages in successful actions for unlawful competition.…
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Injunction on Faithless, Family Fiduciaries
Lifted After One Year

October 19, 2022 Topics: Blog, Injunctions
Forward Signs Inc. v. Philcan Group Inc., 2022 ONSC 5593 The Ontario Superior Court lifts an interim injunction on two departed fiduciaries, finding that one year was more than adequate to protect the plaintiffs from the springboard effect of the employees’ rather egregious pre-departure conduct. The absence of evidence of…
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Are Client Lists Produced from Memory or Personal Records Confidential? An Alberta Court Offers a More Nuanced Analysis

April 18, 2022 Topics: Blog, Confidential Documents
GG & HH Inc v 2306084 Alberta Ltd, 2022 ABQB 58 The Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench declines to extend an injunction prohibiting departed pharmacists from contacting the applicant’s patients. While accepting as plausible the pharmacists’ explanation that they relied solely on memory, personal records and community networks to contact…
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Court Applies Lesser Scrutiny to Non-Solicit, Finding Investment Advisor’s Sale of Good Will in Clients Part of Sale of a Business

Mandeville Holdings Inc. v. Santucci, 2021 ONSC 4321 An investment advisor’s negotiated sale of the good will in his book of business to a firm causes the Ontario Superior Court to construe his non-solicitation covenant as part of the sale of a business, not within an employment context. The court issues…
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Post-Resignation Restrictive Covenant Upheld as a Commercial, not Employment Agreement

WJ Packaging Solutions Corp. v Park, 2021 BCSC 316 The BC Supreme Court holds that a five-year agreement prohibiting competition by a departed employee is enforceable, with less scrutiny applied as being a commercial agreement. The decision raises interesting considerations for employers contemplating negotiating non-compete or non-solicit covenants with former employees…
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The Re-Emergence of Blue-Pencil Severance of (some) Restrictive Covenants

City Wide Towing and Recovery Service Ltd v Poole, 2020 ABCA 305 The Alberta Court of Appeal holds that blue-pencil severance may be used to alter restrictive covenants that restrain employee competition, provided the covenant was part of the sale of a business. The practice of “blue-pencil” severance in employment…
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Supreme Court of Canada Eliminates “Waiver of Tort” as a Cause of Action, Restrains Use of Disgorgement Remedy in Breach of Contract Cases

October 2, 2020 Topics: Blog, Disgorgement of Profits
Atlantic Lottery Corp. Inc. v. Babstock, 2020 SCC 19 The Supreme Court of Canada has reined in novel uses of the disgorgement remedy in ways that will narrow its availability in employee competition cases. The Court held that disgorgement is not available as a remedy for “waiver of tort”, as the…
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Courts Differ on Standard to Establish Fiduciary Status in Applications to Restrain Solicitation of Clients

Capital Direct Lending Corp. v. Blanchette, 2019 BCSC 1068; Brian L. Leipert Financial Services Ltd. v. Reiter, 2019 SKQB 310 Courts in BC and Saskatchewan come to opposite conclusions on whether the strong prima facie case threshold is applicable to establishing breach of fiduciary duty in claims for injunctive relief to prevent solicitation…
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Employer’s Aggressive Fight for Clients Backfires, Court Awards Damages for Defamation of Departed Employee

January 22, 2020 Topics: Blog, Defamation
Alberta Computers.com v. Thibert, 2019 ABQB 964 The Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench awards $60,000 in damages against an employer that defamed its former employee while attempting to dissuade the local business community from doing business with him. One of the first byproducts of a key employee’s departure often is…
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