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It could be months before a judgment is made in a wrongful dismissal lawsuit involving a former West Kelowna assistant fire chief and the District of West Kelowna.
Kerry Klonteig is seeking more than $150,000 after he was fired for drinking and driving in the chief’s truck in 2013.
The trial concluded on Friday, but defence lawyer Barry Anderson said the judge didn't give any sense of how long it might be until a decision is made.
“Could be a month, or a few months,” he said.
Klonteig and his wife went to dinner at Kelowna’s Lake City Casino on the evening of Oct. 6, 2013.
He describes drinking 12 ounces of wine, half an ounce of liquor, half an ounce of rum and 36 ounces of beer during dinner and while gambling.
Klonteig then made the decision to drive in Fire Chief Wayne Schnitzler’s truck, which was owned by the municipality.
“I had felt OK, I had a meeting the next day, and we didn't have a vehicle of our own and I didn’t feel comfortable leaving the chief's truck, that particular vehicle, downtown,” court heard on Jan. 9. “So we made the decision to drive home.”
He was pulled over by an RCMP officer while crossing the William R. Bennet bridge and failed two breathalyzer tests.
Two days later, he was handed a 90-day driving suspension, a 30-day impoundment of Schnitzler’s truck and was fired.
Klonteig argued his employer “failed to implement alternative disciplinary actions” and says they should have given him 18 months of notice prior to his firing.
He filed a civil claim against the district in May 2014, seeking more than $152,000 in damages plus other special damages to be determined by the court.
Klonteig admitted he made a mistake and said “this was an individual incident that happened as a mistake on my personal off-duty time,”
Schnitzler described him as a “strong leader,” who brought “a wealth of knowledge and understanding of fire service” when he was hired in 2008.
Klonteig worked as a firefighter and assistant fire chief at the Kelowna Fire Department for 13 years before taking on the role of assistant fire chief position with West Kelowna in 2008.
