View cases - Stewart McKelvey

- 19 -sales, conducting retail sales, his handling of the AmeriCredit portfolio andbeing promoted to one of the Finance Manager positions, it would appear thatMr. Coppola had every reason to feel secure in his employment at CapitalPontiac. While the employment principles referred to above clearly establishthat an employee may be dismissed without cause and without the need for theemployer to give any reason, when an employer does proffer a reason, itshould be honest and forthright. The reason given by Mr. Axelson to Mr.Coppola that he was being dismissed because he had decided to reduce thenumber of Finance Managers from three to two does not ring true. While itmakes no difference given the employers’ right to terminate without cause itwould seem in this case that Mr. Coppola’s refusal of a transfer to a differentdealership was more likely the reason for his dismissal, though this was notcommunicated to Mr. Coppola at the time. It may also be the case that Mr.Axelson realized that he had been outwitted in compensation negotiations withMr. Coppola who was now earning almost four times his initial salary.2011 SKQB 318 (CanLII)• Mr. Coppola was 36 years of age at the time of his hiring. He brought with himnine years of experience in automotive sales and management, and he had hadsome success as a self-employed businessman. Given his success as a salesmanat Capital Pontiac, he could have anticipated remaining with the company for anumber of years. He was not close to retirement age. He was young enough toestablish a new career away from automotive sales and financing—which iswhat he eventually did.• Availability of similar employment was a problem for Mr. Coppola. While he