David Pentz

This is a complex family law case involving a dispute over parenting arrangements between separated parents.

The applicant sought an order to temporarily remove the children from the respondent's primary care due to her alleged failure to meaningfully participate in court-ordered reunification therapy.

The case evolved over seven years from a simple application to confirm parenting time into a comprehensive examination of parental alienation, estrangement, and the children's resistance to contact with their father.

The court found that the respondent engaged in systematic alienating conduct that prevented the development of a meaningful father-child relationship, but ultimately declined to reverse custody due to the children's ages and entrenched positions.

The respondent father brought a motion for summary judgment to enforce Minutes of Settlement that resolved parenting time and eliminated his child support arrears, or alternatively, to vary his child support obligations due to financial hardship.

The court granted summary judgment on the parenting issues, finding no genuine issue for trial.

However, the court refused to enforce the settlement regarding child support arrears, holding that parents cannot bargain away a child's right to support, and directed that issue to trial.

The court also granted a temporary order reducing ongoing child support and arrears payments based on the father's reduced 2021 income.

The applicant brought a motion to find the respondent mother in contempt for failing to comply with a prior court order requiring their two teenage daughters to return to in-person schooling.

The respondent admitted non-compliance, citing the children's refusal and her own beliefs aligned with a religious organization during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Relying on the Court of Appeal's decision in Bouchard v. Sgovio, the court declined to make an immediate contempt finding, instead utilizing its broad enforcement powers under Family Law Rule 1(8) to order the respondent to take specific steps to enroll the children for the upcoming school year.

The contempt motion was adjourned to monitor compliance.