After-acquired cause reversed a $115K wrongful dismissal award in this NB case
A company president who secretly incorporated a rival business, diverted a client contract, inflated financial records, withdrew $70,000 USD from a subsidiary account, and then deleted emails to cover her tracks has lost her wrongful dismissal claim on appeal. In a decision penned by Justice Quigg on March 19, 2026, the New Brunswick Court of Appeal reversed a trial ruling that had awarded Laura Araneda $115,240 in damages, finding instead that her employer, VIC Progressive Diamond Drilling Inc., had established after-acquired cause for dismissal.
Laura Araneda had served as president of VIC, a family-owned diamond drilling business, since 2006, and began using the title of CEO in 2015. In early July 2020, while still in that role, she met with a solicitor to incorporate HIT Drilling, a direct competitor. She reserved the domain name, opened bank accounts, arranged insurance, and set up email addresses for the new company.
She then prepared a business plan with former VIC senior manager Kevin Kyle, dated July 22, 2020, that divided all responsibilities between the two of them. The plan budgeted Araneda a salary of $1,800 per week and described her role as "Silent Partner as necessary." Her common-law partner, Patrick Shaun McQuinn, was listed as CFO and Secretary-Treasurer on the incorporation documents but had no active involvement.
When placing insurance for HIT Drilling, Araneda told the...
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