A junior hockey team in B.C.’s Interior is being sued over unpaid wages.
The lawsuit claimant, Tyler Gunn, says he was an assistant coach with the Sicamous Eagles of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League from July 2019 to December 2020.
However, Gunn alleges that for a five-month span, from April 2020 to August 2020, he wasn’t paid a nickel and is now seeking $13,125.06 in lost wages.
The civil claim was filed in Kelowna on March 27, 2023.
Gunn’s civil claim says the team told him on or about April 1, 2020 that “the club could not continue to pay him as a result of lost revenue arising from the COVID19 pandemic.”
The civil claim says “based on the defendant’s representations, Mr. Gunn agreed to work for the defendant without pay.”
However, it then says, “On or about December 1, 2020, Mr. Gunn learned that the defendant had sufficient funds to pay him at the time of their April 1, 2020, conversation with him. He learned that the defendant could have continued to pay him during the time he took no pay.”
The lawsuit says Gunn faithfully and diligently performed his duties for the team, and that when he brought up the issue of pay in December 2020, his contract was terminated.
“At all material times, the defendant owed Mr. Gunn a duty of care based on its relationship with him,” says the civil claim. “The defendant’s representation about its finances was untrue, inaccurate or misleading.
“The defendant acted negligently or intentionally in making said misrepresentation. Mr. Gunn relied on the defendant’s misrepresentation to his detriment.”
The civil claim says Gunn is seeking the full value of his contract, as well as interest.
Global News reached out to the Sicamous Eagles Junior B Hockey Club for comment.
In an email on Thursday morning, the team said it wasn’t prepared to provide comment, having just become aware of the situation.
In other news, the KIJHL crowned its league champion on Monday night, as the Kimberley Dynamiter battled the Princeton Posse in a thrilling series.
The series went the distance, and then some, with the Dynamiters winning the Teck Cup with a 3-2 overtime win in Game 7.
During the past nine seasons, the Dynamiters have appeared in five league championship series, winning in 2015 and 2018 and losing in 2016 and 2019. There were no league finals in 2020 or 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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