Gary Gottlieb

Following a nine-week high-conflict parenting trial where the applicant father was wholly successful and the respondent mother was found in contempt and to have acted in bad faith, the court determined costs.

The father beat multiple offers to settle.

The court awarded the father costs on a full recovery basis for the trial and contempt motion, and partial recovery for pre-trial steps, fixing the total costs at $677,610 inclusive of HST and disbursements, to be set off against spousal support and equalization.

The applicant father sought a transfer of primary care and decision-making responsibility for the parties' two young children.

The respondent mother had engaged in a severe and prolonged campaign of parental alienation, including making multiple false allegations of physical and sexual abuse to the police and children's aid societies, and sabotaging court-ordered reunification therapy.

The court found that the mother's conduct caused significant emotional harm to the children and that she was incapable of supporting their relationship with the father.

The court transferred primary care and decision-making to the father, ordered a 90-day period of no contact for the mother (save for supervised therapeutic time), and found the mother in contempt of a previous access order.

The applicant mother and respondent father both brought motions for temporary parenting of their 3-year-old child.

The father, who was in recovery for opioid use disorder, sought extended parenting time and relied on letters from his treating professionals.

The mother sought primary care and a more restricted schedule for the father, citing his inability to care for the child for extended periods without assistance.

The court found that the father's treating professionals were 'participant experts' but excluded portions of their letters that were partisan or exceeded their expertise.

The court granted primary care to the mother and ordered her proposed parenting schedule, finding it was in the child's best interests given the father's ongoing recovery and demonstrated difficulties in caring for the child independently.