Law360 Canada ( October 11, 2022, 8:59 AM EDT) -- Appeal by the defendant Society from trial judgment finding the respondent Gerling was an employee of the Society and it had wrongfully dismissed him or that, alternatively, the Society breached its contract with Papa-T Productions, of which Gerling was the sole director and shareholder. The Society was the owner of Panhandle Productions. Gerling had been involved with the Society for 25 years, starting as a volunteer. In 2012, the Society entered into a management services agreement with Papa-T to provide business planning, development, operations, and marketing of its business interests and activities. Gerling incorporated Papa-T specifically to contract with Panhandle and the Society. It was Gerling’s decision for the management services agreement to be structured as a fixed-term contract between the Society and Papa-T to avoid negative tax consequences associated with being an employee. He agreed he was paid by Papa-T for the work it was doing for the Society. The Society terminated the contract with Papa-T for cause 11 months early. The Society alleged it began to lose confidence in Gerling’s performance in 2017. The termination letter referred to breaches of the management services agreement with Papa-T. The Society argued the trial judge erred in finding that Gerling was an employee of the Society, in not finding that Gerling had breached the management services agreement with the Society but instead finding he had committed only one single incident of bad judgment not sufficient for termination, and in awarding aggravated damages....