C. Hibberd

The moving party's counsel brought an uncontested motion to have the moving party declared a 'special party' under the Family Law Rules and to appoint the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee (OPGT) as his litigation guardian.

Medical and capacity assessments demonstrated that the moving party suffered from severe cognitive impairments and was incapable of instructing counsel.

The court found the moving party to be a special party and, noting the absence of any other appropriate representative, appointed the OPGT to represent him in the ongoing family law proceedings.

Following the settlement of a child protection proceeding, the respondent mother sought costs of $352,066.02 from the respondent father.

The mother argued the father acted unreasonably, necessitating an urgent motion mid-trial to enforce a parenting order after he failed to return the children.

The court noted that while costs are rarely awarded between parents in child protection matters, the father's breach of the court order justified a costs award for the urgent motion.

The court awarded the mother $15,000 in costs for the motion but declined to award costs for the entire proceeding, as the trial was not completed and there was insufficient evidence of bad faith to justify full costs.