The Respondent, Keith Carter, was substantially successful in an enforcement motion against the Applicant, Deirdre Michener, regarding compliance with access and communication orders.
This endorsement addresses the costs of that motion.
The Respondent sought over $50,000 in costs, including his own time as a self-represented litigant and his lawyer's fees.
The court found the Respondent was substantially successful but declined to find bad faith or unreasonable conduct by the Applicant.
The court disallowed the Respondent's claim for costs as a self-represented litigant, as he was represented by counsel under a limited scope retainer, deeming it an impermissible "doubling up" of costs.
The court also found the lawyer's claimed hours (90 hours for a long motion) to be excessive and disproportionate to the complexity of the issues.
The court awarded the Respondent $7,500 inclusive of disbursements and HST.
