Grant Hughes claims he was demoted from his role at the Toronto-based proxy advisory firm in a way that was “designed and intended to humiliate and degrade him,” according to his statement of claim. He is seeking $750,000 in damages plus about $1.3 million, the equivalent of two years of salary, bonuses and benefits. The allegations haven’t been tested in court. (The Globe and Mail)

Talking point: The suit comes amid turbulence in Kingsdale’s executive ranks, including last month’s departure of former CEO Ian Robertson. Hughes’s complaint centres on founder and executive chairman Hall’s announcement at an executive team meeting in July that he was demoting Hughes from president to executive vice-president and stripping him of his responsibilities in the firm’s proxy business, without prior warning. The firm later reinstated his title, but not his responsibilities. While Hughes wasn’t technically fired, he claims the events leading to his departure amount to constructive dismissal. Kingsdale, meanwhile, claims in its statement of defence that the firm was undergoing a reorganization to address dysfunction and waste among its proxy and governance teams, and that Hughes orchestrated his own departure.