Mary Kodric

This is a costs decision following a four-day trial concerning parenting and support arrangements for the parties' child.

The applicant (father) sought no costs order, while the respondent (mother) claimed costs of $15,097.25 for legal assistance received during the litigation.

The court found the mother was the successful party based on comparison of settlement offers and trial positions.

The court awarded costs of $10,000 inclusive of fees, disbursements, and HST, payable within 90 days.

The court declined to award costs for work done at prior steps in the case, limiting the award to work performed for the trial step.

A custody and access trial involving two unmarried parents engaged in prolonged high-conflict litigation over their six-year-old son since his first birthday.

The father sought sole custody or joint custody with medical decision-making authority and a rotating weekly parenting schedule.

The mother sought joint custody with final decision-making authority over medical and schooling matters, or alternatively sole custody, with the father having alternate weekend access.

The court found that joint custody was not in the child's best interests due to the parents' extremely poor communication, complete lack of respect and trust, and ongoing power struggles.

The court awarded sole custody to the mother while granting the father substantial access rights, including two out of every three weekends and mid-week access, with detailed provisions protecting his involvement in medical and school decisions.

Child support was set at $700 per month under section 9 of the Child Support Guidelines.

The Children's Aid Society of Toronto brought a motion for summary judgment seeking statutory findings that four children were in need of protection and dispositional orders placing two children with their maternal grandparents and two children with their paternal grandmother, subject to Society supervision and specified access conditions.

The mother opposed the motion and sought to have all children returned to her care.

The court granted the summary judgment motion, finding that the mother had failed to demonstrate a genuine issue for trial.

The court found that the mother had not successfully addressed her lifestyle and parenting challenges, remained incapable of forming therapeutic relationships with professionals, and was unable to prioritize the children's needs over her own.

The court made custody orders under section 57.1 of the Child and Family Services Act placing the children with their grandparents, with access to the parents as agreed by the custodians or as specified by the court.