The applicant maternal grandmother brought an ex parte motion for temporary custody of her granddaughter following the father's death, failing to disclose the stepmother's significant role as caregiver.
The ex parte order was set aside upon the stepmother's presentation of evidence.
The stepmother sought full recovery costs of $9,937.78, alleging bad faith.
The court found the applicant's conduct highly unreasonable and misleading, though falling short of the strict legal threshold for bad faith.
The court ordered the applicant to pay $6,000 in costs to the stepmother.
