How to prepare for litigation in wrongful dismissal cases
Q: If severance negotiations are not yet bearing fruit, how should I prepare for litigation at court?
Answer: If you are a worker with a Superior Court wrongful dismissal lawsuit, the first things you should do are:
- gather relevant documents as soon as possible,
- make reasonable efforts to look for similar work (this is a duty imposed by court law),
- maintain a log of job search efforts, and
- get legal advice from an employment lawyer.
Collecting documents that help prove the facts you need to prove is critical, whether it is with respect to, for instance, the terms of employment, the dismissal, or your losses/damages post-dismissal.
These documents are then collected by your lawyer and converted into an “Affidavit of Documents”, which is basically a book of documents to be exchanged with the opposing party and vice versa.
The lawyers for the parties then analyze the documents and ask questions of the parties (who are under oath) at private out-of-court examinations for discovery (“discoveries”). Transcripts are made if necessary and further documents may need to be searched for after discoveries take place.
Discoveries are a critical step in litigation prior to trial, to see what the strengths and weaknesses are with respect to the parties’ evidence under oath. And while an actual trial is often unnecessary, the lawyers have to prepare for it, just in case.
Discoveries can help push meritorious matters forward too and put pressure on the other party.
In wrongful dismissal cases, keep in mind that negotiations can continue while the litigation process is ongoing.
In fact, it is often in the parties’ interests to engage in a voluntary mediation/settlement meeting at some point along the way even if it is not mandatory to avoid delay and uncertainty.
This article was originally published by The Hamilton Spectator.
