Court Rules Real Estate Licence Tutor, Richard Li Min Zhao, Violated Non-compete Agreement With Ex-employer
In a recent Supreme Court of British Columbia ruling, Quick Pass Master Tutorial School Ltd. was awarded $50,000 in damages plus Special Costs following a lawsuit against Li Min (Richard) Zhao.
The Court ruled that Richard Zhao, a former tutor at Quick Pass, had breached part of his independent contractor agreement with the company in a deliberate and calculated manner. The breaches related to part of the agreement Zhao had with Quick Pass that contained Non-competition, non-solicitation and Confidentiality and Proprietary Information agreement.
Zhao worked at Quick Pass as a real estate tutor between June 9, 2016 and Oct. 31, 2017, before starting his own tutoring service for students wanting to pass Canadian real estate examinations.
Under the non-compete clause, Richard Zhao had agreed not to start up a similar tutoring service in Vancouver, Burnaby or Richmond for 18 months after ending his employment with Quick Pass. But, just one day after terminating his contract with Quick Pass, he opened his own school in Burnaby, utilizing content from Quick Pass as the primary source of his teaching materials.
The Court also agreed to award Quick Pass special costs against Zhao for his conduct in the litigation with the Judge ruling that Zhao “deliberately chose to respond to the injunction application with a sworn affidavit he plainly knew was false.”
BC Court Ruling:
https://www.bccourts.ca/jdb-txt/sc/22/18/2022BCSC1846.htm
News Outlets:
Vancouver Sun
Former teacher at B.C. real estate school ordered to pay $50,000 in damages
https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/former-teacher-at-b-c-real-estate-school-ordered-to-pay-50000-in-damages
Burnaby Now
Burnaby real estate licence tutor violated non-compete agreement with ex-employer
https://www.burnabynow.com/local-news/burnaby-real-estate-licence-tutor-violated-non-compete-clause-in-agreement-with-ex-employer-6007687
Vancouver is Awesome
Burnaby real estate licence tutor violated non-compete agreement with ex-employer
https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/highlights/burnaby-real-estate-licence-tutor-violated-non-compete-clause-in-agreement-with-ex-employer-6007687
Canada Today
Burnaby property licensing tutor breached non-competition clause with former employer
https://canadatoday.news/bc/burnaby-property-licensing-tutor-breached-non-competition-clause-with-former-employer-64269/
