BC Supreme Court Dismisses Claim for Wrongful Dismissal Damages

The BC Supreme Court recently dismissed a claim for wrongful dismissal damages brought by an employee who alleged her employer improperly terminated her employment approximately 2 years after she became disabled. The employee was in receipt of LTD benefits when terminated. The employer argued the employee’s disability frustrated the employment contract. The court agreed, and found that the evidence supported the employer’s plea of frustration: the employee was disabled for over 20 months at time of termination, with a prognosis of another seven months disability. The court found the disability to be of sufficient duration to make further performance of the employee’s obligations under the employment contract either impossible or very different from those contemplated in the original employment contract. Demuynck v. Agentis Information Services Inc.