U of W wants former president’s lawsuit thrown out

The University of Winnipeg has asked the court to toss out a lawsuit filed by its former president over his unceremonious ouster late last year.

Todd Mondor, who was the university’s president and vice chancellor from 2022 until he was removed from the role in late November, filed his lawsuit in the Court of King’s Bench in February.

He alleged university officials breached his contract, didn’t act in good faith and inflicted distress upon him.

But the university, in a statement of defence filed last week, claims its officials did no such thing.

“The actions of the university relating to the termination of the plaintiff’s employment were in accordance with normal practices involving the immediate termination of the employment of a senior executive with the size of the university,” the U of W’s court filing says.

The university denies that Mondor suffered “any loss, harm, injury or damages as alleged” and asks the court to dismiss his lawsuit and grant it legal costs.

Mondor began what was supposed to be a five-year term as president on April 1, 2022. It was slated to expire June 30, 2027.

He says in his court papers he was in the process of seeking reappointment, which was supported by at least some of the board of regents, when he was canned abruptly following a meeting of the board on Nov. 24.

The U of W’s court papers don’t indicate why the board decided to remove him.

In his lawsuit, Mondor takes issue with how his severance was handled, and with requests the U of W made of him after he was let go.

The university argues the requests it made of Mondor after his termination, including that Mondor step down from boards and committees and hand over access to his work phone, were reasonable in the circumstances.

The U of W’s court papers acknowledges Mondor’s severance payment was delayed but says that did not harm him.

Mondor received a gross payment of $799,324.18 on Jan. 30, on top of $52,038.46 paid out shortly after his termination, the U of W says.

“The university states that the decision of the board to proceed with the termination of the plaintiff’s employment was made bona fide, taking into consideration the best interests of the university,” says the U of W’s court papers.

The U of W says the board’s decision to terminate Mondor’s employment was unanimous and it denies that he was ever told he was likely to be reappointed.

Officials taking steps ahead of his termination, including drafting a termination letter and arranging for security personnel to escort him from the university, were “reasonable and prudent,” argues the U of W in its court papers.

The university also denied that statements made by the board chair to the media following Mondor’s termination were misleading, reckless or made in bad faith, as Mondor claims.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca