September 26th the Superior Court of Justice released its decision for one of our clients. The client had signed a contract for six months’ of work of computer consultancy services. The client was acknowledged by everyone to be a top expert in his field. Before he signed the contract he advised the employer (technically, the company who contracted with him as an independent contractor) that he had a very dated criminal record for one offence committed when he was in high school (a place he graduated from many years ago). He also filled out a criminal records check form on which he declared this same dated conviction. He obtained the necessary security clearances and began working pursuant to the contract. A month later his contract was terminated when the records check came back, confirming the exact conviction he had already declared. In other words, he was fired for something he had already disclosed before he was hired. The company sought to rely on a termination clause we argued was void for vagueness. The judge agreed and our client was awarded damages for all the money he would have made for the unexpired portion of the contract.
