Naser Abedi

The respondent brought a motion in family proceedings seeking dismissal of the applicant's claims on grounds of res judicata, issue estoppel, and statute of limitations.

The applicant had previously litigated divorce, Mahr, spousal support, and equalization claims before Iranian courts, which rendered final decisions on those issues.

The Ontario divorce had been granted in 2020 by a prior order that was never appealed or varied.

The applicant's equalization claim was also statute-barred under s. 7(3) of the Family Law Act as it was advanced more than two years after the divorce.

The applicant failed to attend three Trial Scheduling Conferences and did not appear at or file materials for this motion.

All claims were dismissed as res judicata, statute-barred, or abandoned, and costs of $20,000 were awarded to the moving party.

The parties sought a consent order compelling Toronto Children's Aid Society (CAS) to expedite the disclosure of a file and staff report for an upcoming case conference, citing CAS's backlog.

The court refused to grant the order, stating that it would not intervene in CAS's internal workflow or prioritize disclosure requests without a justiciable issue, proper notice to CAS, and a legal basis for such an order.

The judge noted that a court order is not a means to circumvent institutional issues or to give plausible deniability to CAS for prioritizing certain cases.

Mehrasa Tamaddonfar, a respondent in the main application, brought a motion for partial summary judgment seeking the release of 50 percent of the proceeds from the sale of a matrimonial home.

The applicant, Seyedeh Shabnam Banihashemi, claimed 100 percent beneficial ownership through resulting trust or unjust enrichment, despite Ms. Tamaddonfar being a legal co-owner who contributed to the down payment and co-signed the mortgage.

The court dismissed Ms. Banihashemi's claims, finding that Ms. Tamaddonfar gave value for her interest, thus precluding a resulting trust, and that there was no unjust enrichment as Ms. Banihashemi benefited from acquiring the property and living there.

The motion for partial summary judgment was granted, and 50% of the proceeds were ordered released to Ms. Tamaddonfar.

The applicant brought a motion requesting leave to proceed with an urgent motion for spousal support.

Pursuant to a newly effective Notice to the Profession and Family Law Litigants and Protocol for Central East Region, leave on the basis of urgency was no longer required since a case conference had already been held.

The court dismissed the motion for leave without prejudice, noting it was unnecessary, and directed the applicant to file an Assignment Court Confirmation request to proceed with her intended motion.

The applicant brought a motion for temporary spousal support and the release of funds held in trust from the sale of the matrimonial home.

The respondent opposed, relying on an Iranian marriage contract and seeking to freeze the funds as security for an equalization payment.

The court dismissed the motion for temporary spousal support, finding that while the applicant established entitlement, his financial stress would be alleviated by the release of the home proceeds.

The court ordered the equal division and release of the $480,000 held in trust, rejecting the respondent's attempt to freeze the funds under section 12 of the Family Law Act.

In an uncontested family law trial, the applicant sought equalization of net family property, post-separation adjustments, enforcement of a Maher under an Islamic marriage contract, and an order compelling the respondent to obtain a religious divorce.

The court found the marriage contract valid and enforceable, ordering an equalization payment that included the Maher value.

The court also awarded post-separation adjustments for mortgage, utility, and flight costs.

Finally, the court exercised its inherent jurisdiction to order the respondent to take all necessary steps to obtain an Islamic Iranian divorce.