'Abusive, unfair, cruel': Scathing B.C. court decision slams wrongful dismissal of senior
CTV
A B.C. senior has been awarded more than $200,000 in a wrongful dismissal case, with the judge describing the employer's conduct as abusive, vicious, cruel, and profoundly harmful.
A B.C. senior has been awarded more than $200,000 in a wrongful dismissal case, with the judge describing the employer's conduct as abusive, vicious, cruel, and profoundly harmful.
China Southern Airlines has been ordered to pay Paul Chu, who is now 71 and working as a driver for DoorDash, damages totalling $208,053 as compensation for his termination.
"The plaintiff alleges that beginning in February 2018, CSA engaged in broad and sustained pattern of bad faith abusive conduct, including unfair discipline, insincere warnings, manufactured cause, and public embarrassment. He alleges that CSA’s bad faith conduct has continued throughout the course of the litigation," the judge wrote, summarizing Chu's claim.
The company, for its part, argued that Chu was fired for cause citing "incompetence" and "time theft" and saying he “consistently failed to meet the company’s expectations”.
In a lengthy, scathing decision on Jan. 5, Justice Frits Verhoeven laid out his reasons for finding in Chu's favour and for awarding a significant amount in aggravated and punitive damages.
Chu began working for the airline on contract in 2008, the court heard, helping set up its operations in Vancouver. In 2011, he was hired as the company's marketing and business development manager, a position he held until management changed.
Prior to January of 2018, the judge described Chu's record as "impeccable." However, things changed soon after Rui "Jocelyn" Zhang became the general manager things changed, according to the decision.
