Case information
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38448
Jennifer Cottrill v. Utopia Day Spas and Salons Ltd.
(British Columbia) (Civil) (By Leave)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-05-06 | Close file on Leave | |
| 2019-04-12 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2019-04-12 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2019-04-11 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver), Number CA44471, 2018 BCCA 383, dated October 17, 2018, is dismissed. Dismissed |
|
| 2019-02-25 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, for consideration by the Court | |
| 2019-01-15 | Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), Return of the CA Order form; filing date unknown due to ongoing submissions on costs at the Court of Appeal. | Jennifer Cottrill |
| 2018-12-21 | Letter acknowledging receipt of an incomplete application for leave to appeal and without formal Court of Appeal order, FILE OPENED 2018/12/21 | |
| 2018-12-17 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Included in the application for leave to appeal) | Jennifer Cottrill |
| 2018-12-17 | Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), CA Order missing (rec' 04/04/19); signed BCCA reasons missing-rec'd 2019/01/15, Completed on: 2019-02-25 | Jennifer Cottrill |
Parties
Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.
Main parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Cottrill, Jennifer | Applicant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Utopia Day Spas and Salons Ltd. | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Cottrill, Jennifer
Counsel
560-1285 West Broadway
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6H 3X8
Telephone: (604) 266-7006
FAX: (604) 734-7006
Email: richard@kentemploymentlaw.com
Party: Utopia Day Spas and Salons Ltd.
Counsel
Suite 1600 Cathedral Place
925 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6C 3L2
Telephone: (604) 631-9156
FAX: (604) 669-1620
Email: rmahil@lawsonlundell.com
Summary
Keywords
Employment law — Wrongful dismissal — Aggravated damages — What are the evidentiary requirements for awarding aggravated and bad faith damages — Whether the conduct of an employer, in itself and without any assessment of the harm on the employee, is sufficient to award bad faith and/or aggravated damages — What is the availability and parameters for the various categories of additional damages arising in the employment law context including aggravated, bad faith and punitive damages.
Summary
Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.
The applicant, Jennifer Cottrill was hired by the respondent, Utopia Day Spas and Salons Ltd., as a skincare therapist and commenced employment in May, 2004. She worked on a full-time basis at the spa for approximately 11 years before she was dismissed. In January 2015, the employer became concerned with Ms. Cottrill’s job performance. On March 13, 2015, two members of senior management met with Ms. Cottrill to discuss their concerns. In the meeting, Ms. Cottrill was given a letter advising of her performance deficiencies. The letter stated that she had three months to improve or she would be terminated from employment on June 12, 2015. On June 12, 2015, representatives of the employer met with Ms. Cottrill and advised her that she was terminated from her employment. She was not paid any severance as she was terminated for cause for failure to meet performance standards. Ms. Cottrill commenced a claim against her employer for wrongful dismissal. The trial judge found that she had been wrongfully dismissed and pursuant to her employment contract was entitled to eight weeks’ severance pay. In addition, because of the manner of dismissal, Ms. Cottrill was awarded $15,000 in aggravated damages. On appeal by the employer, the appeal was allowed and the aggravated damage award was set aside.
Lower court rulings
Supreme Court of British Columbia
S156415, 2017 BCSC 704
Applicant’s action for wrongful dismissal allowed; applicant entitled to severance in amount of $4,795.78; applicant awarded aggravated damages in amount of $15,000
Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver)
CA44471, 2018 BCCA 383
Appeal allowed; aggravated damage award set aside
Filed documents
The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of the memorandum by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613-996-8666 or at 1-844-365-9662.
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Downloadable PDFs
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Related links
The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613-996-8666 or at 1-844-365-9662.
If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available
Related links
The condensed books of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here upon receipt of the electronic version, 2 days prior to the scheduled appeal hearing. You may also obtain copies of condensed books by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613-996-8666 or at 1-844-365-9662.
If you have questions about a condensed book or want permission to use a condensed book, please contact the author of the condensed book directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each condensed book.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available