Ballim v Bausch & Lomb

Samfiru Tumarkin LLP is proud to announce a significant decision in the Ballim v Bausch & Lomb court case, handled by associate Stan Fainzilberg.

In Ballim v Bausch & Lomb, the main issue was whether the parties had agreed to a fixed-term or indefinite term contract. The relevant facts are that on November 16, 2015, after several interviews, the Defendant’s HR representative sent an email to the Plaintiff stating “this is a one year contract”. Attached to the email was an offer letter that stated that the Plaintiff’s employment was on a contract basis but was silent as to duration.

“The main issue on the motion was whether our client, the employee, signed a fixed-term employment agreement or an indefinite one,” explained Lior Samfiru, employment lawyer and partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP.

At trial, the Defendant argued that the offer letter encompassed all the terms of the contract between the parties and that, since no duration was specified in the offer letter, the presumption is that the contract was indefinite in nature.

The Plaintiff argued that the email and the offer letter were part and parcel and both collectively encompassed the parties agreement. After reviewing the evidence, the judge ultimately held that the email formed part of the employment contract and that the Plaintiff was entitled to damages for the balance of the contract.

Stan argued that it was a fixed-term agreement as this meant that she is owed significant damages, now that her employment was terminated. The court completely agreed with Stan.

To see the full court transcript, click here.