Former directors win lawsuit against SaskTel Centre

Two former directors of what’s now SaskTel Centre have won a lawsuit for wrongful dismissal.

Brian Swidrovich, former director of business and sponsorship at what was then Credit Union Centre (CUC), was fired in 2012.

“Let’s face it, people get fired all the time. But, there’s a good way to do it and there’s a dumb way to do it and I believe we were treated very badly along the way,” Swidrovich said Wednesday during an interview with 650 CKOM.

Both Swidrovich and ex-director of ticketing and finance William Antonishyn were let go over concerns around expenses they filed following a 2011 trip to Phoenix. The pair sued and the case went to trial in 2017.

Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Richard Elson delivered a 70-page written decision on Feb. 15.

In his decision, Elson noted the Phoenix trip was approved by then-executive director Ken Wood, who was both Swidrovich and Antonishyn’s immediate supervisor.

“Although there are other facts in this matter that cannot be ignored, I am satisfied that this one fact stands out above all others,” Elson wrote.

At trial, Larry Sieferling, the lawyer for Swidrovich and Antonishyn, argued that the roughly $8,000 in expenses incurred on the trip – including tickets to an NFL football game and rounds of golf – were legitimate business expenses on behalf of CUC. He said the trip was part relationship-building with a client who sponsored events at the City of Saskatoon-owned facility and part research tour as part of conversations around a possible CFL franchise coming to Saskatoon.

Wood also took part in the trip. He testified at trial he had been instructed to run CUC “as a business” by the facility’s board.  As such, he told court he felt there was an understanding he would spend money from time-to-time in order to drum up business and increase revenues. To that end, he used a discretionary fund of up to $25,000 to cover similar trips in 2009 and 2010.

In his decision, Elson noted that facility revenues increased at Credit Union Centre from $5.4 million in 2002 to more than $30 million in 2009.

Wood retired shortly after the 2011 trip to Phoenix. He was replaced by current executive director Will Lofdahl.

Swidrovich and Antonishyn were fired after Lofdahl took over, on the grounds that they had inappropriately expensed the trip. At trial, Lofdahl said the pair should have known the expenses were improper, even though Wood had given his approval.

Elson disagreed, writing:

“If the circumstances of the 2011 trip persuaded the Board and Mr. Lofdahl that management reporting practices were not sufficiently transparent, it was open for it to make the necessary changes to avoid similar problems in the future. However, it was not open for the Board or Mr. Lofdahl to change the landscape retrospectively and destroy the careers of two long-standing employees in the process.”

Elson awarded Swidrovich 20 months’ pay and benefits, plus interest and  24 months’ pay and benefits plus interest for Antonishyn.

With both men earning salaries just over $100,000 at the time of their firings, the combined payout could reach well over $400,000.

However,  Elson also declined to award aggravated damages in the case, despite both men filing reports of how the loss of employment, the damage to their reputations and the strain of the lengthy case had affected their health.

As such, Swidrovich said he was likely still coming out behind despite winning the suit.  Even so, he said he still felt the case had been worth pursuing.

“I learned from some very wise people, as I was sitting with some veterans and they said: ‘Brian, there’s three things in this world worth fighting for and that’s your country, your family and your reputation,’ and I took that to heart.”

Sieferling told 650 CKOM he still had to review the decision fully and work out appropriate compensation amounts for his clients. He didn’t rule out a potential appeal on the issue of further damages.

In a statement emailed to 650 CKOM, City of Saskatoon solicitor Patricia Warwick said SaskTel Centre lawyers were also still reviewing Elson’s decision.

“SaskTel Centre respects the court process and the right of the plaintiffs to a fair trial. As the events which relate to this Judgment arose in 2011 and 2012, SaskTel is looking forward to concluding this matter and moving forward with an eye on the future of SaskTel Centre,” she wrote.

—With files from 650 CKOM’s Brent Bosker and Bryn Levy