RE:Lawsuit Kelso says former CFO Lee oversaw financial collapse
Kelso Technologies Inc (2) (C:KLS)
Shares Issued 54,443,422
Last Close 11/14/2024 $0.14
Thursday November 14 2024 - Street Wire
by Mike Caswell
Kelso Technologies Inc. has responded to the wrongful dismissal lawsuit filed by its former chief financial officer, Richard Lee, accusing Mr. Lee of taking the company to "the verge of financial collapse." Kelso denies that it did anything wrong in firing Mr. Lee, saying that it terminated him after he failed in his duties as CFO. The company further claims that it offered Mr. Lee a $60,000 severance payment, but he refused the offer.
The statements from Kelso come in response to a notice of claim that Mr. Lee filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia on Oct. 17, 2024. The case arose from the Aug. 30, 2024, dismissal of Mr. Lee which, according to the suit, came with no good reason. Mr. Lee, 68, says that the company had attempted to force him into retirement, but he refused.
According to the suit, the dismissal triggered a clause in Mr. Lee's employment agreement which stated that he was entitled to 24 months of salary. At the time of his dismissal, Mr. Lee was earning $20,000 (U.S.) per month, plus expenses and a year-end bonus, the suit states. Mr. Lee's lawsuit is seeking court-ordered damages, plus interest and court costs.
For its part, Kelso claims that Mr. Lee's firing was justified, coming as part of an effort to save the company. In a response filed on Nov. 7, 2024, Kelso says that the company underwent a management change in July, 2024, after which it became apparent that Mr. Lee had "failed in his financial management duties, leaving the Company on the verge of financial collapse." The company does not provide any other details, but it says that the solution to the financial troubles included dismissing Mr. Lee.
According to the response, Kelso offered Mr. Lee a one-time payment of $60,000 as part of a "good faith effort" to satisfy any obligations it had to him. The company says that it made the offer despite having no obligation to do so. Mr. Lee worked as an independent contractor, and could be dismissed at any time, the company says. He did have a written contract that included a termination provision, but that contract had lapsed on June 30, 2023, and was not renewed, according to the response.
For those reasons, Kelso is asking that the suit be dismissed. Vancouver lawyer Dianne Rideout of Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP filed the response on the company's behalf.
When Kelso fired Mr. Lee, the company had little to say about his dismissal, simply stating 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 15.5 cents on the Toronto Stock Exchange Thursday, up a penny.
© 2024 Canjex Publishing Ltd.