Ms. M. Leonard

This decision addresses a request for costs brought by the father (K.D.) against the mother (P.D.) following a child protection trial.

The trial found the child in need of protection due to emotional harm caused by the mother, and custody was granted to the father.

The court applied Rule 24 of the Family Law Rules, noting that the presumption of costs for a successful party does not apply in child protection cases.

While the mother's litigation conduct was deemed unreasonable and prolonged the trial, the court found it did not constitute "bad faith" under Rule 24(8) because her actions stemmed from a fixed belief related to a personality disorder, rather than an intent to inflict financial or emotional harm.

Consequently, the father was awarded partial indemnity costs, significantly less than the full recovery sought, reflecting the mother's unreasonable behaviour but not bad faith.

The applicant brought a motion to change a child support order made by Justice Maresca on July 16, 2012, which required him to pay $508.00 per month based on an annual income of $35,000.

The applicant sought to vary the order based on a material change in circumstances, claiming his actual income was significantly lower, and requested a reassessment for alleged overpayments in 2013 and 2014.

The court found that the applicant's actual income had consistently been approximately $12,000 to $13,000 annually, not $35,000 as originally stated.

The court granted the motion and varied the child support to $333 per month based on a minimum wage income of $22,000, effective from the date of the original order.

The court declined to order reimbursement for overpayments, finding it would not be in the children's best interests.