Ian James Howard Brown

This decision addresses the costs of previous motions concerning child access and financial disclosure.

The applicant, Mr. Leybourne, sought increased access to his daughter and financial disclosure, while the respondent, Ms. Powell, sought to restrict his access.

The court found Mr. Leybourne's offer to settle more favourable than the outcome and deemed Ms. Powell's conduct unreasonable for bringing an urgent motion and making unsubstantiated allegations.

Consequently, Mr. Leybourne was awarded costs on a full recovery basis.

This endorsement concerns the costs of an application where Leslie Kuenzig sought a retroactive adjustment of child support from Wade Topp.

The court had previously awarded retroactive support from November 2011, rather than the 2001 date sought by Kuenzig, and ordered Topp to pay $68,588.98 in arrears.

Kuenzig sought $7,000 in costs, arguing that pro bono work should not preclude a reasonable award.

Topp contended that each party should bear their own costs due to mixed success, or that he should receive costs for the long motion.

Applying the Family Law Rules, the court found Kuenzig primarily successful despite not achieving the full retroactive period requested.

The court fixed Kuenzig's costs at $7,000, payable by Topp within thirty days, and deemed the award enforceable by the Family Responsibility Office.