Sean Manak has filed a civil claim in the Alberta Court of King’s Bench & BC Superior Court alleging that Coast Capital Savings Federal Credit Union/Coast Capital Auto & Equipment Finance Ltd. required him to work between 70 and 100 hours per week for years, ignored clear warnings about unsafe workload levels, and continued to pressure him even after he was hospitalized and placed in a medically induced coma on life support.

According to the Statement of Claim, Manak was solely responsible for national repossessions, remarketing, and recovery work tied to a billion-dollar commercial portfolio, as well as responsible for a laundry list of unrelated tasks, including acting as de facto manager of the Collections Department. The claim states that Coast Capital relied heavily on the personal national and international buyer network he had built over a decade, enabling the organization to sell repossessed assets above liquidation value and avoid millions in storage, depreciation, and commission costs.

The claim alleges that despite his collapse in July 2023, Coast Capital and its stakeholders continued to send work-related communications during his hospitalization and demanded his return shortly after discharge, with threats of contracting out his position.  When Manak resumed duties despite medical restrictions, the lawsuit asserts that Coast Capital refused to accommodate them, assigned him the entire backlog that accumulated during his coma, and told him the capacity issues “would not be addressed.” He was back to having to work extensive hours, and Manak states he had no choice but to resign on December 4, 2023, amounting to constructive dismissal.

The lawsuit seeks damages for unpaid overtime, loss of income, breach of the duty of good faith, aggravated and punitive damages, and injury to dignity.

Statement from Sean Manak
“I nearly died from the workload. I collapsed from exhaustion and stress and became so medically compromised that I went into respiratory failure and required a medically induced coma and life support. Even after being put into a coma and placed on life support, the pressure didn’t stop. No one should be treated this way.”