Following a five‑day trial varying child support and determining income for support purposes, the court addressed costs.
The applicant father sought partial recovery of $45,000 in costs after successfully obtaining a variation of child support from May 2006 onward.
The court considered the presumption of costs under the Family Law Rules, the parties’ settlement offers, and the proportionality and reasonableness factors under r. 24.
Although the applicant achieved greater success and had made an offer more favourable than the trial result, the court reduced the requested amount due to proportionality concerns and the applicant’s unreasonable conduct in failing to pay child support for 44 months.
Costs of $25,000 were awarded to the applicant.
