The City of Delta and a councillor deny allegations of wrongful firing and defamation made by a former employee in a lawsuit seeking $700,000 in damages.
In a B.C. Supreme Court notice of civil claimed filed April 19, Paramjit Singh Grewal said he was employed by the city as general manager of economic development and stakeholder relations in the mayor’s office.
Named as defendants are the City of Delta and Dylan Kruger, a city councillor.
The city filed a response May 24 and Kruger filed his three days later. They used different law firms.
The claim said Grewal was earning $234,000 per year as well as a car allowance of $748 a month, 11.5 per cent vacation allowance and various benefits.
The claim said Grewal was fired March 21, 2024 although his contract ended Dec. 31, 2026.
The claim alleges the termination without notice or cause breached the contract.
It claims Grewal should receive what he was entitled to for the contract to the end of 2026.
The decision to fire was made in an in-camera council session attended by Kruger, the claim said.
The claim said Kruger made 24 defamatory comments about Grewal. Glacier Media has chosen not to repeat the alleged defamatory comments.
The lawsuit alleged Kruger breached the council’s code of ethics.
City response
In its response, Delta said Grewal’s contract provided for termination without notice or pay in lieu of notice provided that the termination was for just cause; or without just cause, by providing a severance payment equivalent to one month's base salary for each completed year of service of six months' base salary less lawful deductions.
The city said it terminated Grewal on March 21, 2024 on a not-for-cause basis and made a severance offer comprised of six months' base salary equivalent to $117,000, $4,488 for pay in lieu of vehicle allowance, and $59,914.29 inclusive of both a payout for the his annual vacation for 2024 and his earned extraordinary hours, subject to statutory deductions, in exchange for him signing a release.
“The plaintiff did not accept the offer,” the response said.
Then, it said, the city paid Grewal $137,164, equivalent to five months' base salary and leave entitlements and extraordinary hours, less statutory deductions on April 30, 2024.
The city said the defamation was not provable and it was not liable for it.
“Delta denies that Councillor Kruger was acting as or was an agent for Delta in making the statements, if the statements were made, which is not admitted but is denied,” the city response said.
Kruger’s response
The council member denied making defamatory statements.
His response said the lawsuit, “discloses no reasonable claim, has been brought in bad faith, is scandalous and vexatious, and an abuse of the court's process, and as such should be struck and dismissed.”
Kruger’s response claimed the alleged witness to the alleged statements is a businessman very engaged in local affairs who was engaged by Grewal “for the improper purpose of eliciting statements for this action, and in a failed attempt elicit confidential and privileged communications that occurred” during the in-camera council meeting where Grewal was terminated.
The response said Kruger “repeatedly reiterated that he could not discuss the matter” as the businessman persisted in his inquiries.
The response said at one point in a meeting with that witness, the businessman appeared to stop a recording on his phone.
Kruger further denied any breaches of the city’s ethics code for councillors.
“Councillor Kruger says that the action herein should be struck and dismissed, with special costs payable by the plaintiff,” the response said.
Kruger’s response noted Grewal was an unsuccessful political running mate of Mayor George Harvie’s Achieving for Delta slate in the 2018 election and was seen as a political hire after that election.
What does Grewal's lawsuit seek?
Against the city, Grewal’s suit seeks:
• damages for breach of the employment contract;
• damages for breach of the city's duties of good faith in termination of the employment contract and honesty in performance of the contract;
• damages for its vicarious liability for the actions of Kruger or, in the alternative, for the actions of Kruger acting as its agent; and;
• damages for negligence.
Against Krueger, the suit seeks damages for defamation.
Against both the city and Kruger, the suit claims aggravated damages.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
