Malina Ann Feeley

The Family Responsibility Office (FRO) initiated a default hearing against the respondent for child support arrears.

The respondent brought a motion to stay enforcement pending the determination of his separate motion to set aside/stay underlying orders.

The court dismissed the respondent's motion to stay, finding that his outstanding motion did not challenge the specific child support order being enforced.

The court also determined that the respondent failed to provide adequate financial disclosure to demonstrate an inability to pay ongoing support.

The court ordered the respondent to continue paying ongoing child support of $450/month and adjourned the default hearing to address arrears and potential imprisonment.

Costs were awarded against the respondent for unreasonable procedural conduct.

Following the rejection of Mr. Mwadi's urgent motion, the court addressed the issue of costs.

The Bureau des Obligations Familiales (BOF) and Ms. Mihalache, the respondents, sought costs.

The court awarded BOF $825 on a partial indemnity basis.

For Ms. Mihalache, a self-represented litigant, the court applied principles from *Fong v. Chan* and *Benarroch v. Fred Tayar & Associates P.C.*, reducing her claimed hours and awarding a symbolic amount of $250 due to insufficient evidence of foregone remunerative activity, while acknowledging the emotional cost.

Mr. Mwadi was granted 90 days to pay the awarded amounts.

The moving party brought an urgent motion to order the Family Responsibility Office to reduce the bi-weekly garnishment of his wages for a costs award from $393.93 to $50 per month.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that the moving party failed to provide sufficient financial disclosure to establish an urgent situation or demonstrate an inability to borrow funds to satisfy the debt.

The Family Responsibility Office (FRO) brought a motion for a warrant of committal against the respondent for approximately $89,000 in child and spousal support arrears.

The respondent had been making regular payments through wage garnishment since 2009 but had fallen behind on the total amounts owed under a 2007 separation agreement.

The court dismissed the motion for committal, finding that the respondent's conduct did not meet the test for incarceration as a last resort, especially given his ongoing payments and pending motion to change support.

However, the court ordered the respondent to pay an additional $300 per month towards the arrears pending the outcome of his motion to change.

The Children's Aid Society sought an order making three children Crown wards for the purposes of adoption.

The mother sought the return of the children under a supervision order.

The court found that the mother lacked the capacity to parent the children due to her anger management issues, inability to manage finances, and refusal to cooperate with professionals or accept medical treatment for the children's special needs.

The children were thriving in foster care.

The court ordered the children made Crown wards for the purposes of adoption, with access to the mother at the Society's discretion.