N. Waldman

The applicant wife brought a motion seeking financial disclosure and a valuation of the respondent husband's interest in a corporation as of the date of separation.

The husband argued the asset was excluded property gifted by his father and that a formal valuation was disproportionate to its value, which he claimed was equal to the dividends he received.

The court held that the husband had the onus to provide credible evidence of the asset's value and ordered him to retain a Chartered Business Valuator at his own expense, noting that the issue of whether the asset was excluded remained in dispute.

The mother brought a motion to strike the father's pleadings due to his persistent failure to comply with court orders regarding financial disclosure and payment of costs.

The court granted the motion to strike the pleadings, noting the father's cavalier attitude towards his obligations.

However, the court declined to immediately impute an income of $180,000 to the father as requested by the mother, instead giving him a final opportunity to provide proper corporate and personal tax disclosure.

The court also dismissed the mother's claim to set aside the property provisions of their separation agreement based on the father's non-disclosure of a tax refund, as the agreement contained a clear waiver of financial disclosure.

The father appealed an Ontario Court of Justice order granting the mother sole custody and primary residence of their child, as well as an $8,000 costs award.

The father argued the hearing judge erred on the facts, prejudiced him during cross-examination, improperly proceeded with a focused hearing, and erred by not appointing the Office of the Children's Lawyer.

The Superior Court of Justice dismissed the appeal, finding no misapprehension of evidence, no prejudice in the judge's conduct, and that the father failed to object to the focused hearing or request OCL involvement in a timely manner.

The costs award was also upheld, and the father was ordered to pay $9,500 in costs for the appeal.