West Fraser Ltd. is denying it breached a contract when it fired a foreman after he had a confrontation with his ex-wife at the company's Quesnel Plywood plant.
In a response to a notice of civil claim, filed Tuesday in B.C. Supreme Court in Quesnel, the company said Randall Couture was terminated after a complaint of bullying and harassment was confirmed.
West Fraser also alleged Couture failed to be forthright during the initial investigation meeting.
Couture, who was fired on Nov. 24, 2014, had been a supervisor for five years. His ex-wife, meanwhile, operated a janitorial service and one of her clients was the plant.
They had married in February 2013 but by May 2014 they had separated with the relationship ending permanently by September 2014 amid acrimony.
In November 2014, she filed a complaint with the RCMP claiming Couture had stolen some company property. However, according to a notice of claim Couture had filed in February, a subsequent police investigation did not uncover any such property and the file was eventually closed.
Couture confronted his ex the next day, saying she had harassed him by filing the complaint with the RCMP. In turn, she filed a complaint with West Fraser, saying he had harassed her.
Couture, who now works as a shelf stocker at considerably lower pay, is suing West Fraser for damages, claiming in part that management's investigation was biased and that it lacked an established procedure for the investigation of complaints.
In its response, West Fraser cited five previous occasions where Couture was disciplined for such things as failing to follow established procedures, acting inappropriately to an employee, failing to comply with the company's safety police and failing to be honest.
West Fraser also said Couture was paid outstanding wages and vacation pay when he was let go.
None of the allegations have yet been tested in court.
