Batya Berman

The Court of Appeal for Ontario heard an appeal concerning spousal support.

The husband appealed a Superior Court decision that significantly increased his lump sum spousal support obligation to the wife from an arbitration award.

The Court of Appeal found that both the appeal judge and the arbitrator erred in their application of the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAGs).

The appeal judge failed to give deference to the arbitrator's findings and ignored relevant factors, while the arbitrator failed to adequately explain the departure from SSAGs.

The Court of Appeal substituted its own award, increasing the lump sum spousal support to $678,888 (from the arbitrator's $250,000, but less than the appeal judge's $1,893,603) and awarded the wife $100,000 in arbitration costs.

The husband brought a motion to correct the calculation of a spousal support award previously set aside and substituted by the court on appeal.

He argued for a "netting-down" of the retroactive sum to account for after-tax costs and benefits, or to address an undecided issue.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that present-value calculations were inappropriate for arrears and that the income tax implications did not warrant a reduction.

The judge emphasized that the husband had deliberately avoided paying spousal support and should not benefit from tax advantages he forewent, citing public policy against rewarding such conduct.

The appellant wife appealed a family law arbitrator's award of $250,000 in lump sum spousal support and costs to the respondent husband.

The husband, a high-earning ophthalmologist, had promised upon separation in 2013 to settle his support obligations later, but paid no spousal support for nine years.

The Superior Court found the arbitrator erred in law by failing to apply the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAGs) and by misapplying the criteria for lump sum awards to arbitrarily reduce the retroactive support owed.

The court held the husband was estopped from relying on the wife's delay due to his prior promise.

The appeal was allowed, the spousal support award was increased to $1,893,603, and costs of the arbitration were awarded to the wife.

The applicant brought a motion for interim spousal and child support, section 7 expenses, and a preservation order.

The parties cohabited for a short period and had one child.

The applicant argued the respondent's declared income of $140,400 did not match his lavish lifestyle, which included luxury cars, designer clothing, and expensive watches.

The court imputed an income of $400,000 to the respondent based on a lifestyle analysis and unexplained cash expenditures.

The court also imputed $50,000 to the applicant.

The court ordered interim spousal support of $8,553 per month, table child support of $3,099 per month, and granted a preservation order over the respondent's condominium and investment accounts due to a real risk of dissipation.