Canad Inns, Ledohowski take aim at allegations

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This article was published 18/12/2014 (4145 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Canad Inns and founder Leo Ledohowski have come out swinging, denying all allegations in a wrongful-dismissal and sexual-harassment claim filed earlier this month.

The company filed a statement of defence Wednesday, and in addition to vigorously denying all the allegations in the claim, the Winnipeg-based company made a counterclaim for more than $200,000 against the husband-and-wife team who moved to Winnipeg in 2010 from Ontario to work for Canad Inns.

Cherilyn O’Reilly and her husband, Antonio Ventresca, seek unspecified amounts for lost wages and benefits as well as punitive damages. O’Reilly claimed Ledohowski made several unwanted sexual advances toward O’Reilly and the couple was terminated when those advances were spurned. O’Reilly claimed that one month after she started working as a corporate trainer in June 2011, she was subjected to a series of harassments including inappropriate sexual touching by Ledohowski. In her claim, she said she complained to the company’s human resources department in September 2012 and she and her husband, Ventresca, were fired the following May.

In its defence and counterclaim, Canad Corp. said the sexual-harassment allegations “are outrageous and without any foundation whatsoever.”

The company’s counterclaim states the company’s human resources department asked O’Reilly for details of the harassment but was not provided any. The claim said the department made “discrete and confidential inquiries” to employees it believed were close to O’Reilly but received no information in support of O’Reilly’s allegations. The court document also notes the HR department notified Ledohowski about the allegations.

As evidence of the company’s defence against allegations that O’Reilly was subjected to “abusive, objectionable and unwelcome conduct” in the workplace, the defence document makes several references to an email O’Reilly sent to Ledohowski in which she thanked him for being “so kind and respectable” to her and Ventresca.

The company claims Ventresca and O’Reilly were terminated because they failed to perform the requirements of their employment agreements.

It says Ventresca, who was hired as chief operating officer, made inappropriate use of his expense account, using Canad Inns facilities for personal benefit.

The company seeks $99,594 in room and hospitality charges by Ventresca for himself and various family members the company claims were a breach of contract and fiduciary duty.

The counterclaim alleges both Ventresca and O’Reilly acted toward other Canad Inns employees with a lack of civility and respect. It alleges both were reprimanded and cautioned on several occasions regarding their conduct.

The company claims $132,929.84 in unpaid principal and interests regarding a bridge-loan agreement negotiated on behalf of Ventresca and O’Reilly on their Winnipeg residence.

None of the allegations in the claim or counterclaim has been proven in court.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca