Search
Better Farming OntarioBetter PorkBetter Farming Prairies

Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Appeal court chops damages in Purina case

Thursday, June 23, 2011

by SUSAN MANN

An Ontario Appeal Court has slashed the amount of monetary damages Agribrands Purina Canada Inc. will have to pay for breach of contract with a former Halton region feed dealer.

Last year, Superior court Judge Michael Quigley awarded Walter Kasemekas and his brother, the late Raymond Jackson, more than $2 million in damages in their suit against Purina as well as Ren’s Feed Supplies Ltd., Walter Rendell Job and the Estate of Edward James McGrath. The brothers claimed that Purina had breached its contract and engaged in a conspiracy with the others named in the suit that contributed to the failure of their business, Raywalt Feed Sales Ltd.

In their unanimous written decision released June 20, Ontario Appeal Court justices S.T. Goudge, E.E. Gillese and R.G. Juriansz called Purina’s actions “deceitful,” as well as “reprehensible and deserving of sanction.” But they overturned much of Judge Quigley’s decision and chopped out a hefty three quarters of the amount in damages previously awarded. The justices heard the appeal Feb. 14.

The Appeal Court upheld the trial judge’s $30,000 award for punitive damages noting “(1) punitive damages are very much the exception rather than the rule, (2) imposed only if there has been high-handed, malicious, arbitrary or highly reprehensible misconduct that departs to a marked degree from ordinary standards of decent behaviour.”

Kasemekas estimates the Appeal Court judgment means Purina will now only have to pay about $411,000 in damages. The decision is not totally unexpected, Kasemekas says. “But I’m not happy about it.”

Kasemekas says he won’t appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Purina president and general manager Charles Lapointe couldn’t be reached for comment.

During the Superior Court hearing in Milton in 2009, the court was told that Purina terminated its dealership agreement with Ren’s in July 1990 and signed a dealership agreement in 1991 with Kasemekas and Jackson to supply Ren’s former territory. But throughout the year Kasemekas and Jackson were in business (1991 to 1992), Purina continued to supply Ren’s with Purina products at preferred costs only available to dealers.

While Judge Quigley, found this was one of the reasons that caused the brothers’ business to fail, the Appeal Court justices concluded only Purina engaged in any unlawful conduct. “As a consequence the finding of unlawful conduct conspiracy and the damages flowing from it must be set aside,” it says in their written decision.

They set the breach of contract damages at $198,665.83 plus a prejudgment interest rate of 5.1 per cent and kept the punitive damages against Purina at $30,000. That’s the same amount Judge Quigley set in his Jan. 6, 2010 decision.

Purina and the others appealed the finding of unlawful conduct conspiracy. They also said the trial judge made mistakes in calculating damages for that finding and in the rate he applied for prejudgment interest. Judge Quigley applied a prejudgment interest rate of 6.65 per cent. But the Appeal Court judges say in their written decision he erred in using that rate and the proper applicable rate that should be used is 5.1 per cent.

Purina didn’t contest the breach of contract finding against it, but it did question the method used to calculate the damages for that breach. Purina also appealed the finding of punitive damages against it. BF


 

Current Issue

June/July 2025

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

Calf Auction Raises Funds for Youth

Monday, June 30, 2025

Wyatt Westman-Frijters from Milverton won a heifer calf named Ingrid through a World Milk Day promotion by Maplevue Farms and a local Perth, Ontario radio station. Instead of keeping the calf, 22-year-old Westman-Frijters chose to give back to the community. The calf was sent to the... Read this article online

Cattle Stress Tool May Boost Fertility

Friday, June 27, 2025

Kansas State University researchers have developed a cool tool that may help reduce cattle stress and improve artificial insemination (AI) results. The idea came from animal science experts Nicholas Wege Dias and Sandy Johnson, who observed that cattle accustomed to their environment... Read this article online

Ontario pasture lands get $5M boost

Friday, June 27, 2025

The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $5 million to strengthen shared community grazing pastures. This funding supports the province’s plan to protect Ontario’s agriculture sector and help cattle farmers improve pasture quality, ensuring long-term sustainability and... Read this article online

Health Canada sets rules for drone spraying

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Health Canada has approved the use of drones, also called Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), for pesticide application under the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA). Drones are considered aircraft by Transport Canada, but Health Canada treats them differently due to their unique... Read this article online

BF logo

It's farming. And it's better.

 

a Farms.com Company

Subscriptions

Subscriber inquiries, change of address, or USA and international orders, please email: subscriptions@betterfarming.com or call 888-248-4893 x 281.


Article Ideas & Media Releases

Have a story idea or media release? If you want coverage of an ag issue, trend, or company news, please email us.

Follow us on Social Media

 

Sign up to a Farms.com Newsletter

 

DisclaimerPrivacy Policy2025 ©AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Back To Top