Geoffrey Morgan, Robert Tuttle and Sheela Tobben
Fri, June 17, 2022
(Bloomberg) -- Oil brokerage NE2 Group is hitting back at allegations that Chief Executive Officer Tim Gunn created a toxic workplace, filing an C$11 million ($8.4 million) countersuit against eight former employees who left the firm earlier this year.
In court documents, NE2, a trading house for Canadian crude oil including the flagship Western Canada Select blend, says it was defamed as a result of allegations in a wrongful dismissal suit brought by Marc Bennett, its former head of North American energy. NE2 added the other departed employees to the counterclaim it filed this week, saying they tried to steal business from the firm.
The former employees’ actions “have irreparably harmed NE2’s reputation, goodwill and market share within the crude oil trading industry in North America,” Calgary-based NE2 says in its suit, which names Bennett and seven other people as defendants.
It’s all part of litigation that was started in April by Bennett, who alleged that he and others were verbally harassed by Gunn and that others were physically or sexually harassed by Gunn. He’s seeking millions of dollars from his former firm.
All three filings -- Bennett’s initial lawsuit and NE2’s defense and counterclaim -- depict a company torn apart by workplace tension. NE2’s court filings say that Gunn, who also owns the firm, was attempting to implement cost controls to rein in “bloated incomes” and “exorbitant expense accounts,” including nixing plans for a golf simulator in the office.
The firm denies harassment in its statement of defense and counterclaim. It alleges that Bennett and another former executive, Mandy Burgess, and six oil brokers took part in an “unlawful conspiracy to harm the reputation of Mr. Gunn and NE2,” causing NE2 to suffer “substantial damages.”
Bennett responded to NE2’s claims in a written statement to Bloomberg News: “I deny the allegations made against me as they are false, sensationalized and misleading which will be proven in the litigation process.” He confirmed that he had seen NE2’s filing and said he remained unemployed.
NE2’s counterclaim says Bennett and Burgess left the company in early February. Two months later, after bonuses were paid, six brokers -- Charles Douglas, Dario Vigna, Jack Widmer, Christy See, Ryan Beckwermert and James Cook -- all resigned.
Widmer declined to comment. Douglas and See said they weren’t currently employed and declined to comment further. Contact information for Beckwermert wasn’t available, and Burgess and the remaining former employees named in the lawsuit didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The turmoil at NE2 has caused oil traders to exit a key contract used to hedge Canadian heavy crude. Open interest on the contract on CME Group Inc. hasn’t recovered since the brokers quit over the Easter weekend in April.
NE2 said in the court filings that the former employees “exaggerated and fabricated” instances of harassment in a “smear campaign” and planned to hurt the company and take its clients to a new or competing firm. It also accused the ex-employees of violating their employment agreements by soliciting business from NE2 clients.
Gunn, through a spokesman, declined to comment on the legal battle.
Charges of Violence, Bullying Follow Mass Exodus at Calgary Oil Brokerage
, Bloomberg News
May 19, 2022
(Bloomberg) -- When two-thirds of the brokers at a prominent Calgary oil firm quit without explanation around the Easter weekend, the exodus chilled Canada’s oil market.
Now, a lawsuit filed against the firm, NE2 Group, purports to offer a window into life there during the years and months leading up to the walkout. Filed days after the resignations took place, the suit paints a picture of a toxic environment more reminiscent of oil trading’s mythic early days than the corporate culture of modern Calgary. It alleges that NE2’s president and owner, Timothy Gunn, physically and verbally abused both employees and clients in incidents spanning five years and accuses him of three incidents of sexual harassment. It also alleges he routinely referred to staff as “useless,” “replaceable” and “idiots,” in addition to a variety of profanity-laden expressions.
Weeks after the walkouts, the resignations continue to weigh on Canada’s oil market. The firm has historically played an important role in price-setting, its brokers handling enough volume to determine the benchmark prices of several Canadian crude grades. Those prices, in turn, underpin a key futures contract. In the days after the exodus, traders said they began to worry the firm didn’t have the manpower to ensure accurate prices and exited at least one CME contract used to hedge heavy crude. Open interest on that contract still hasn’t recovered.
NE2, which has not yet submitted a statement of defence to the court, “takes these claims very seriously and expects behavior that is consistent with its workplace policy,” the firm said in a statement. “As we explore the allegations made in this claim, we expect additional facts will be revealed. NE2 will openly and transparently address these allegations through the Court process.” The firm didn’t immediately respond to questions about the market effects of the resignations.
Gunn couldn’t be reached for comment through NE2’s Calgary office and didn’t respond to messages sent by email and on LinkedIn.
The suit was brought by Mark Bennett, NE2's former vice-president of North American energy, who alleges he was wrongfully dismissed in February after raising concerns about workplace harassment, “unilateral changes to employee compensation” and “the ongoing toxic work environment,” according to the suit. Bennett, who had worked for the firm since 2013 and is seeking millions in compensation, declined to comment.
Two months after Bennett’s dismissal, six brokers submitted resignation letters, according to people familiar with the situation who requested anonymity because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly. That equates to two-thirds of the brokerage desk in Calgary. The reasons for the exodus broadly align with the details laid out in Bennet’s suit and were not coordinated, the people said. The resignations, all on or around the Easter holiday weekend, coincided with the payout of annual bonuses following an exceptionally profitable year for the firm, said the people.
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