In 415909 Canada Inc c.o.b. PARS 2000 v. Moghadam, 2024 ONSC 3886 (CanLII), Justice Kaufman faced a common situation where a dismissed employee who had the benefit of using a company car for their personal use refused to return the car to their former employer after being wrongfully dismissed.
In this case the former employer brought a lawsuit to order the return of the company car.
This what the judge said:
[14] The defendant ( former employee) further asserts that his employment was wrongfully terminated and that he would be entitled to the benefit of these cars, which were benefits of his employment, during the period of reasonable notice. The defendant intends to commence an action for wrongful dismissal.
[15] If the defendant is successful in his wrongful dismissal action, he may be compensated for the value of any employment benefits he would have enjoyed during the reasonable notice period, but he is not entitled to use the vehicles before proving his case for wrongful dismissal, let alone before commencing such an action.
The judge ordered the car to be immediately returned and whacked the terminated employee with a $10,000 cost award.
If you would like a copy of this case, email me at barry@barryfisher.ca
If you would like to schedule a mediation, go to my calendar at www.barryfisher.ca
For access to my Wrongful Dismissal Database, go to www.wddonline .ca