In this unusual employment law (wrongful dismissal) case, we negotiated a settlement for our client just before a scheduled summary trial. The settlement was contingent upon our client swearing an affidavit that he did not have a job nor did he have any job offers or reasonable job prospects as of the date he accepted the offer.
Our client made the required sworn statement and then received a unexpected job offer later that very day.
The defendant learned of the new employment prior to making the settlement payment and refused to complete the settlement.
We were forced to go to Court to have the settlement enforced.
As there was no evidence the plaintiff had any forewarning of the job offer and the sworn statement was true when he signed it, the settlement was enforced.
The defendant was ordered to pay the plaintiff’s costs in enforcing the settlement.
This employment law decision supports the binding nature of settlements achieved in wrongful dismissal cases, in the absence of any factual misrepresentations at the time of settlement.