TevlinGleadle Employment Law Strategies has commenced an action in the Supreme Court of British Columbia on behalf of Darryl Somerville, a long term Catalyst employee from Powell River, BC.
A copy of the Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim can be viewed by clicking the link below:
Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim
Because of the new Rules of Court, the claim was restated in the form of a Notice of Civil Claim.
View Notice of Civil Claim (Sep. 16, 2010)
Mr. Somerville claims remedies on his own behalf, and as a “representative” of all Catalyst employees with similar claims.
The gist of the action is that Catalyst breached the employment contracts of its non-unionized employees when it refused to pay amounts that should have been paid under its Short Term Incentive Plan (“STIP Plan”) for the 2009 calendar year, and when it also, at the end of 2009, unilaterally removed a number of valuable employee benefits including the right to continued participation in the company’s Defined Benefit Pension Plan, the right to enhanced vacation benefits, and other similar benefits.
The next stage in the proceeding will involve the defendant Catalyst filing its reply to the claim. This will be a “Statement of Defence” which is expected shortly and will be posted here when it is available.
Once the Statement of Defence is filed it is anticipated that we will apply to the BC Supreme Court for an order “certifying” the proceeding as a class action.