Lawsuit Kelso sued by former CFO Lee over firing
Kelso Technologies Inc (2) (C:KLS)
Shares Issued 54,443,422
Last Close 10/18/2024 $0.195
Friday October 18 2024 - Street Wire
by Mike Caswell
Kelso Technologies Inc.'s former chief financial officer, Richard Lee, has filed a lawsuit against the company in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, claiming that the company fired him from his job for no good reason. He claims that his position, which paid $20,000 (U.S.) per month, came to an end after he refused the company's demand to retire. Mr. Lee, 68, says that he has since been unable to find a comparable job.
The allegations are contained in a notice of claim that Mr. Lee filed at the Vancouver courthouse on Thursday, Oct. 17. The case stems from Mr. Lee's employment at Kelso which, according to Mr. Lee, began in 2010. He says that his salary was set out in an agreement dated July 1, 2020, with that agreement specifying that he was entitled to $20,000 (U.S.) plus expenses and a year-end bonus.
Mr. Lee's firing, as described in the lawsuit, occurred after the company warned him on Aug. 27, 2024, that he would dismissed if he did not retire. Three days later, Kelso fired Mr. Lee for no good reason, the suit claims. As Mr. Lee sees things, that firing triggered a clause in his employment agreement which stated that he was entitled to 24 months of salary. Mr. Lee says that he has since attempted to obtain reasonably similar employment, but has not had any success.
The suit seeks appropriate damages, plus interest and court costs. Vancouver lawyer James Hoopes of Roper Greyell LLP filed the lawsuit on behalf of Mr. Lee and a private entity that he controls, Kitchener Holdings Corp.
Kelso has not yet filed a response to the suit. When it dismissed Mr. Lee, the company simply said that it had "terminated the services of Richard Lee as chief financial officer," without adding any detail. The dismissal came less than two months after the company's president, James R. Bond, had retired, appointing Frank Busch as an interim replacement. (While Mr. Bond's stated reason for leaving was to retire, his retirement came just weeks after he failed to obtain support from a majority of the company's shareholders at its June 6, 2024, annual general meeting, with just 31.92 per cent of the company's shares voted in favour of his position as a director.)
Kelso closed at 19.5 cents on the Toronto Stock Exchange Friday, up two cents.
© 2024 Canjex Publishing Ltd.