Cab owner-operator sues Unicity Taxi in lengthy dispute over Winnipeg-to-Calgary trip

A Winnipeg taxi driver is suing her employer after another driver used her cab to take a fare to Calgary, leaving her without the ability to earn when the driver got stranded by bad weather.

Manjit Dhillon, who is also a shareholder of Unicity Taxi, is suing the company for wrongfully withholding funds, oppressive conduct and breach of the shareholder's agreement, aggravated and punitive damages, interest and court costs.

It's a back-and-forth disagreement that has hit the courts more than once: The drive to Calgary sparked a dispute over wages that became a small claims court case, which then led to the current lawsuit that Dhillon has launched against Unicity in the Court of King's Bench in Winnipeg.

Dhillon alleges the company has unfairly withheld more than $10,000 of her earnings to pay the costs of the small claims case.

The story has its roots in the events of Dec. 22, 2020, when a man Dhillon had hired to drive her cab during the day was dispatched to take a fare from Portage Avenue in Winnipeg to Calgary — a 1,200-kilometre trip.

About 90 minutes into the trip to Calgary, the driver contacted another man who drove for Dhillon, because he didn't have a phone number for Dhillon, the decision in the small claims case says. The driver testified that he asked the man to confirm with the cab's owner (Dhillon) that it was OK to drive to Calgary, and the man told him it was OK, the small claims decision says.

Cab not returned on time

Dhillon found out at 4 p.m., when the driver's shift was supposed to end, that he had left for Calgary in her cab, she alleges in her Court of King's Bench statement of claim filed on March 8.

"The first the plaintiff learned of this fare was when [the driver] did not turn over the taxicab as scheduled," the statement of claim says.

The trip took about 19½ hours, with a meter reading of $2,853.35, the court document says.

The driver did not return with the taxi until Dec. 24 because of bad weather, which left Dhillon unable to earn income, the statement of claim says.

Unicity decided the driver owed Dhillon half the earnings from the Calgary trip, but he believed that was unfair and took the case to small claims court, claiming the president of Unicity and Dhillon unfairly withheld his wages and caused his driver's permit to be suspended.

He lost his case, but now Dhillon claims that after the small claims case was dismissed, she was called to a meeting at the Unicity offices on Nov. 1, where she was told she owed them more than $5,000 in court costs.

"This was the first time that anyone had said anything to the plaintiff about being responsible for legal fees," her statement of claim says.

Dhillon has requested both verbally and in writing the minutes of the meeting where she was told she owed court costs and a written decision letter, but has received neither, nor copies of the legal bills, the claim says.

However, shortly after the Nov. 1 meeting, Unicity started withholding her earnings, she alleges.

From Nov. 6 to Feb. 11, the cab company withheld more than $10,000, the statement of claim says.

"The plaintiff has not been provided with any explanation as to why the amount seized has vastly exceeded the amount she was verbally told," the court document says.

Now Dhillon is suing Unicity for the earnings she says Unicity has withheld from her to pay the court costs.

The general manager of Unicity Taxi said the company had not received a copy of the lawsuit yet and was therefore unable to offer immediate comment.

David Soper, Dhillon's lawyer, said on Wednesday morning that he would contact his client about whether she wished to offer further information.

None of the allegations in the statement of claim have been proven in court.