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CTV News
7 minutes ago
- CTV News
Musk, X Corp to settle US$500-million lawsuit over Twitter firings
NEW YORK — Elon Musk and his social media company X Corp have reached a tentative agreement to settle a lawsuit filed by former Twitter employees who said they were owed US$500 million in severance pay. Attorneys for X Corp and the former Twitter employees reported the deal in a Wednesday court filing, in which both sides asked a U.S. appeals court to delay an upcoming court hearing so that they could finalize a deal that would pay the fired employees and end the litigation. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. ADVERTISEMENT Musk fired approximately 6,000 employees after his 2022 acquisition of Twitter, which he rebranded X. Several employees sued over their terminations and severance pay, and other lawsuits are still pending in courts in Delaware and California. The settlement would resolve a proposed class action filed in California by Courtney McMillian, who previously oversaw Twitter's employee benefits programs as its 'head of total rewards,' and Ronald Cooper, who was an operations manager. A federal judge in San Francisco dismissed the employees' lawsuit in July 2024, and they appealed to the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Court of Appeals. The Ninth Circuit had been scheduled to hear oral arguments on Sept. 17. Attorneys for Musk and McMillian did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday. The lawsuit argued that a 2019 severance plan guaranteed that most Twitter workers would receive two months of their base pay plus one week of pay for each full year of service if they were laid off. Senior employees such as McMillian were owed six months of base pay, according to the lawsuit. But Twitter only gave laid-off workers at most one month of severance pay, and many of them did not receive anything, according to the lawsuit. Twitter laid off more than half of its workforce as a cost-cutting measure after Musk acquired the company. (Reporting by Dietrich Knauth, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Rod Nickel)
CTV News
7 minutes ago
- CTV News
B.C. real estate agent fined $20K after buyer learns home on Indigenous site
A Vancouver Island real estate agent will pay a $20,000 penalty for misconduct after failing to investigate if an oceanfront home was on an Indigenous archaeological site. It was. And only after the deal closed did the buyer discover they were on the hook for thousands of dollars in unexpected permitting costs, plus hourly fees to hire archaeologists and Indigenous representatives, every time they wanted to dig a hole on the property. The listing was one of seven residential properties in the Qualicum Beach area that agent Candice Svrta showed the buyer, who was looking for a waterfront plot where they could either renovate an existing home or build a new one. The buyer eventually settled on the property in question, telling Svrta they planned to renovate the manufactured home that was already on site, according to details of the purchase agreement laid out in a disciplinary consent order between the agent and the B.C. Financial Services Authority. The purchase agreement was drawn up by Svrta in July 2018 and presented to the seller's agent. The contract did not include any clauses related to the property being in an archaeologically sensitive area, according to the financial services regulator. The seller provided a property disclosure statement that was crossed out and void of details except for the comment: 'We do not live here full time,' according to the consent order. Three weeks later, the buyer and seller added an addendum to the purchase agreement, knocking $5,000 off the sale price due to septic inspection results, for a final sale price of $645,000, according to the regulator. Permitting, Indigenous oversight fees The sale was completed in August 2018, but once the deal was finalized, the buyer inquired with the regional district government and learned the property was, in fact, on an archaeological site of historic importance to the area's Indigenous people. 'As a result, (the buyer) faced increased costs to alter the property, including $3,500 for a permit each time to excavate, and $125 per hour each for an archaeologist and a First Nations representative to standby for the duration of an excavation,' according to the disciplinary decision. Two years later, the buyer sued Svrta and Pemberton Holmes Ltd., claiming civil damages in B.C. Supreme Court. The lawsuit was settled privately in December 2023, according to the regulator, which had by then initiated its own investigation to confirm whether the agent had made any inquiries about the archaeological sensitivity of the property. No records of an inquiry were found, constituting a failure to take adequate steps to discover and disclose whether the property was situated on a protected archaeological site, according to the regulator. The financial services authority's investigation confirmed with the Ministry of Forests, Land and Natural Resource Operations that the property was on an archaeological site that is protected under the Heritage Conservation Act and 'must not be damaged or altered without a provincial heritage permit' from the ministry's archeology branch, according to the order. A disciplinary hearing on Svrta's conduct was scheduled for early this year, resulting in a consent agreement signed by the agent and the regulator on Aug. 6. Under the terms of the agreement, Svrta and her personal real estate corporation (Svrta PREC), were found 'jointly and severally liable to pay a discipline penalty to the BCFSA in the amount of $20,000 within three months.' The agent will also pay $1,500 in enforcement expenses to the regulator. Svrta was also instructed to register and complete, at her own expense, the Real Estate Trading Services Remedial Education Course through the University of B.C.'s Sauder School of Business, according to the agreement. Failure to comply with the consent order can result in the suspension or cancellation of the agent's real estate licence without further notice, the regulator said. More than 62,000 archeological sites in B.C. The B.C. Real Estate Services Act requires licensed agents to act in the best interests of their client, act honestly with reasonable care and skill, and make all reasonable efforts to discover relevant facts about a property their client is considering acquiring. The regulator's investigation found that Svrta, who also uses the name Candi Drath, 'committed professional misconduct within the meaning' of those sections of the law. Svrta did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the disciplinary decision. Under the terms of the consent order, the agent is barred from making any public statements the regulator deems inconsistent with the decision. According to the Ministry of Forests, Land and Natural Resource Operations, there are more than 62,000 known archeological sites in B.C., 90 per cent of which are of First Nations origin. The most common examples of such sites include the remains of ancient villages or cemeteries, tool-manufacturing sites, fishing weirs, rock art and shell middens.
CTV News
7 minutes ago
- CTV News
‘It's a lifestyle': Leduc tree farm up for sale
One of Alberta's only "you cut" Christmas tree farms is up for sale. CTV News Edmonton's Miriam Valdes-Carletti has the story. The owners of a Leduc tree farm are looking to pass on the torch to someone who is passionate about agriculture and the holidays. Fir Ever Green Tree Farm, which was started by Judy and Peter Kappeler 16 years ago, is up for sale. 'Ideally it would be a family and they can carry on with the Christmas trees and landscaping,' Judy told CTV News Edmonton in an interview on Wednesday. 'It's a lifestyle to live on a tree farm like this. First of all, you have a full quarter of land around yourself,' added Peter. 'It's beautiful and the new owner should be willing to love nature.' Peter Kappeler, Fir Ever Green Tree Farm Peter Kappeler drives through a tree field at his Fir Ever Green Tree Farm in Leduc, Alta., on Aug. 20, 2025. (Miriam Valdes-Carletti / CTV News Edmonton) Peter says years of tree farm ownership have taught him to work with nature, not against it. From preparing fields for spring planting, managing pests, and shearing and harvesting crops, the year is full of manual outdoor labour. Which is what has Peter – like most agriculture producers eventually – thinking about retirement. 'In the summertime, when my body feels good, I'm not quite ready for sale yet,' the 62-year-old, originally from Switzerland, said. 'I would love to do another 10, 15 years at least but I think I have to listen to my body. I had a hip replaced last winter (and have) a back surgery planned for this upcoming winter.' The couple is proud to have run the business, learned so much about growing evergreens in the Prairies, and retaining a loyal customer base. 'Christmas is kind of like the dessert at the end of the year. People like coming for a Christmas tree. They're happy to be here and it's a fun time of year,' Judy said. Judy Kappeler, Fir Ever Green Tree Farm Judy Kappeler speaks to CTV News Edmonton on Aug. 20, 2025, about putting up the Fir Ever Green Tree Farm in Leduc, Alta., for sale. (Miriam Valdes-Carletti / CTV News Edmonton) An expert says despite the popularity of artificial holiday trees, which have only improved in quality and selection in recent years, the appeal U-pick opportunities like Fir Ever Green Tree Farm is the family experience. 'We can see that consumers are looking for repeat traditions,' said Heather Thomson, vice-president of economy and engagement at Edmonton Chamber of Commerce. 'People do want to spend money on those experiences, especially during the holidays.' The farm is listed for $3.85 million. With files from CTV News Edmonton's Miriam Valdes-Carletti
