Previously-removed VP academic and university affairs (AUA) Drédyn Fontana is suing the AMS for wrongful termination and aggravated damages.
According to the notice of claim obtained by The Ubyssey from the Provincial Court of British Columbia, Fontana is seeking a total claim of $32,824 — $21,531 in severance pay, $11,136 in aggravated damages and $156 in filing fees.
These numbers do not include court-ordered interest.
“We intend to dispute the claim and defend the AMS’s actions in court,” said AMS president Riley Huntley in a written statement to The Ubyssey. Huntley also wrote that Fontana “personally” delivered the claim to him.
“I'd like to see … some accountability taken,” said Fontana in an interview with The Ubyssey following the filing of the notice of claim.
Fontana was removed from office in November 2024 by an AMS Council vote following an investigation by the Executive Performance and Accountability (EPA) Committee into the former VP academic and university affairs, citing poor performance, non-confidence, inability to complete his goals and misrepresentations to Council as the reasons for this removal.
The notice of claim reads that Fontana never received severance pay or notice of termination.
It further claims that he was removed due to “an internal procedural process” not related to his competency as a worker, and he was not given the opportunity to remedy his performance.
Commenting on this, Fontana said there were “problems” with bias in AMS Council and investigation that he believes "were not properly addressed.”
“If there were concerns about my performance, a performance improvement plan would be put in place and then I would be able to address those concerns, you know,” said Fontana.
“That didn't happen,” he continued.
Fontana also claims that the way the AMS and its representatives acted during and after termination was “malicious and harmful” to Fontana’s reputation. The claim specifically cites the email sent out by previous AMS President Christian ‘CK’ Kyle on February 12 about Fontana’s removal which was sent to the entire student body.
Huntley wrote that the decision to dismiss was made "in accordance with the AMS Bylaws and Code of Procedure” and was voted on by “elected student representatives.”
During an investigation conducted into Fontana’s removal, The Ubyssey obtained a report titled "Inquiry Report: Drédyn Fontana Vice President, Academic and University Affairs," purportedly created by the EPA Committee detailing their inquiry process into Fontana’s performance.
At the time, the AMS would not confirm the authenticity of the document but did respond to The Ubyssey's reporting by standing behind Fontana's dismissal.
The document said the committee found it “premature to make a determination on the progress of [Fontana’s] goals due to the number of ongoing goals and multi-year goals.” Despite this suggestion, AMS Council voted to terminate him.
In his statement, Huntley wrote that though he cannot “comment on specific terms under which Drédyn left” due to privacy legislation.
“We do, however, believe that we have acted fairly and followed all laws in relation to this case,” wrote Huntley.
Documents featured in this article have been edited by The Ubyssey to remove the private information of those included. This decision was made with the understanding that the omission of these details have no consequence to the transparency of this story. This article was published and unpublished to embed this version of the notice of claim.
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