Madam Justice O’Brien

The parties entered into Minutes of Settlement to resolve multi-jurisdictional family litigation by consolidating their dispute into an alternative dispute resolution process in Ontario.

The day after signing, the moving party was served with a new defamation proceeding commenced by the responding party in Iran.

The moving party sought to set aside the Minutes of Settlement, arguing the new proceeding was a fundamental breach.

The court found that the responding party's failure to disclose and withdraw the defamation claim constituted a fundamental breach of an implied term to end all related litigation.

The court allowed the motion, set aside the Minutes of Settlement, but declined to award damages or address jurisdiction.

The applicant father brought a motion to expand his parenting time with the parties' three-year-old child to include overnight visits, aiming for a 50/50 schedule.

The respondent mother opposed the motion, citing allegations of past family violence and requesting a mental health assessment of the applicant.

The court considered the best interests of the child under the Divorce Act, noting that while there was evidence of high conflict and some violence during cohabitation, there were no concerns regarding the applicant's parenting post-separation.

The court granted the motion in part, expanding the applicant's parenting time to include two overnights per week on an interim basis, but declined to order a 50/50 schedule to maintain stability for the child.