Chris McInnis

The applicant and respondent, former partners, both sought the sale of their jointly owned property.

While agreeing on the sale, they disputed the distribution of net proceeds, with the respondent claiming sole beneficial ownership or a constructive trust due to her significantly larger financial and labour contributions.

The court dismissed the respondent's claim for a resulting trust but found unjust enrichment by the applicant.

The court ordered that after the respondent is reimbursed for her downpayment and renovation costs, the remaining net proceeds be divided 17% to the applicant and 83% to the respondent, reflecting their respective financial contributions to the mortgage and carrying costs.

This endorsement addresses the costs of a prior motion where the respondent mother was entirely successful and "bested" her offer to settle.

The mother sought costs on a partial indemnity basis up to the offer date and full recovery thereafter.

The applicant father argued the claimed costs were unreasonable and disproportionate.

The court, exercising its discretion, declined to award full recovery costs despite the successful offer, finding the hours claimed by counsel excessive for the straightforward issues.

Costs were fixed on a partial indemnity basis at 65% of the mother's claimed amount, payable by the father.