CFO awarded unpaid wages, future salary and business expenses in Ontario Superior Court ruling
An Ontario court has granted default judgment to a former chief financial officer who was dismissed without cause only months into a five-year fixed-term contract, awarding him unpaid wages, the full balance of his remaining salary and unreimbursed business expenses.
Nikhil Chhelavda began working as CFO for the corporate defendants on July 11, 2017, under a five-year employment agreement providing a base salary of $175,000 per year and reimbursement of business expenses.
He was terminated without cause on Nov. 22, 2017, only months after the agreement began.
Default judgment: 'entirely incommunicado'
The CFO sought default judgment after the defendants were noted in default and remained “entirely incommunicado” despite being served with all motion materials, the motion confirmation form and information about attending the hearing by Zoom.
The matter was held down for 15 minutes at the start of the April 13, 2026 hearing, but none of the defendants attended, the court stated. The court proceeded in their absence after the 15‑minute grace period had passed and granted the motion for default judgment, relying on the deemed admissions in the statement of claim and the affidavit evidence filed in support of the motion.
The defendants include Leslie Huszti and Veronica Huszti, along with companies listed as Huszti Investments (Canada), Eyewatch Networks, Diversified Options Traders and Sentient Offices.
Termination provisions unenforceable
In assessing liability, the court found that both the without cause and with cause termination provisions in the employment agreement violated the requirements of Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, c. 41.
As a result, neither provision was valid or enforceable at law, and the termination provisions in the agreement were unenforceable as a whole, in line with the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in the 2020 Waksdale v. Swegon North America decision, the court held.
“I would have drawn the same conclusion even if only one of the two provisions were contrary to the Employment Standards Act,” said Justice Ira Parghi.
Based on the deemed admissions of fact and the supporting affidavit material, the court found that the individual defendants should be held jointly and severally liable for damages together with the corporate defendants.
Court awards wages for full term
On damages, the court noted that Chhelavda did not pursue the general damages claim pleaded in his statement of claim. Instead, he sought three categories of monetary relief:
- unpaid wages up to his termination date in the amount of $49,246
- the balance of wages he would have received to the end of the fixed‑term employment agreement in the amount of $810,753
- unreimbursed business expenses in the amount of $53,981
The former CFO “is entitled to his unpaid wages and unreimbursed business expenses based on the express terms of his employment agreement,” said Parghi, and he is entitled to the balance of the wages he would have received up to the end of his employment agreement based on the principles set forth by the Court of Appeal for Ontario in Howard v. Benson Group Inc.
These amounts were detailed and explained in the supporting affidavit material, and the court awarded them in the amounts sought.
The court also awarded Chhelavda his costs on the motion in the amount of $5,000.
