Chris Graham

The applicant brought a motion seeking declarations that his 99-year-old mother was incapable of managing property and instructing counsel, and seeking the appointment of a litigation guardian and guardian of property.

The court reviewed competing capacity assessments and preferred the assessment finding incapacity, noting the mother's confusion and inability to understand the litigation.

The court appointed a neutral third-party lawyer as litigation guardian and guardian of property, passing over the mother's other son due to extreme family conflict and a prior finding of unconscionable procurement.

The court also ordered the mother's counsel to pay $3,500 in costs personally for taking unreasonable positions and failing to address his client's lack of capacity.

Following a 14-day trial on an application to pass accounts where the applicant trustees were ordered to repay $150,531.14 to the trust, the respondent sought $567,157.64 in substantial indemnity costs.

The court found the respondent was the successful party and entitled to costs.

However, the court declined to award enhanced costs, finding that while the applicants failed to keep proper records and created documents to reconstruct the accounts, their conduct was not reprehensible or scandalous.

The court also found the respondent's costs claim was disproportionate and unreasonable due to over-lawyering and unreasonable litigation conduct.

The court awarded the respondent $90,000 in costs inclusive of disbursements and taxes.

The applicant, a 64-year-old man with significant health issues, brought a motion for temporary dependant's support from his late father's estate.

The respondent, the applicant's mother and sole beneficiary, had distributed the entire estate to herself without applying for probate.

The court found credible evidence that the applicant was a dependant and ordered the respondent to pay $5,000 per month in temporary support plus a $5,000 lump sum.

The court also held that the limitation period for the claim had not expired because it only begins to run upon a grant of probate, which had never been obtained.