Andrew Freedman

The parties attended a family law case conference.

The respondent husband revealed for the first time at the conference that he and his partners had sold their business the previous day, despite having negotiated the sale for five months.

The applicant wife sought leave to retain her own Chartered Business Valuator to prepare a comprehensive valuation of the respondent's business interest, which the respondent opposed on the basis that they had previously jointly retained a valuator who provided a calculation valuation.

The court granted the applicant leave to retain her own expert, finding that the respondent failed to comply with his financial disclosure obligations and that the previous calculation valuation provided little assurance of accuracy.

The court also ordered the respondent to pay the costs of the conference due to his late disclosure, with the amount to be determined.

The respondent in a family law proceeding brought a motion to adjourn the trial scheduled for January 2016 to April or May 2016.

The moving party argued that an adjournment was necessary due to outstanding expert reports, incomplete questioning, and a pending section 30 assessment report.

The responding party opposed the motion, citing prejudice and the moving party's failure to comply with previous timetables.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that the moving party had twice consented to trial dates and failed to comply with the associated timetables, and that further delay would prejudice the responding party and the parties' child.

The appellant payor appealed a trial decision awarding retroactive child and spousal support, ongoing spousal support, and costs to the respondent recipient.

The parties had a separation agreement, but the payor failed to disclose significant increases in income and negotiated reduced support payments.

The Court of Appeal upheld the retroactive child support award, finding the payor's failure to disclose income constituted blameworthy conduct.

However, the Court allowed the appeal regarding spousal support, limiting the retroactive spousal support to the period before the recipient became self-sufficient and setting aside the ongoing spousal support award due to the time-limited nature of the separation agreement.