Court of Appeal for Ontario

Date: 2021-09-10 Docket: C68917

Before: Strathy C.J.O., Lauwers and Sossin JJ.A.

Parties

Between: Diane Florovski, Applicant (Appellant)

And: Louie Florovski, Respondent (Respondent)

Counsel

Fadwa Yehia and Gabrielle Pop-Lazic, for the appellant Christina Doris and Sydney Bunting, for the respondent

Heard: September 3, 2021 by video conference

On appeal from: The order of Justice Richard T. Bennett of the Superior Court of Justice, dated December 2, 2020, with reasons reported at 2020 ONSC 7486.

Reasons for Decision

[1] In this family law case, Vallee J. made an order requiring the respondent to make full disclosure, building in a daily $500 financial penalty for any failure to do so on a timely basis (August 26, 2019 - 2019 ONSC 5013). The appellant moved to strike the respondent’s pleading and to enforce the penalty, which by then had accumulated to the total of $224,000, even though disclosure was relatively complete. The motion judge declined to do so and left the proper application of the penalty provision in the order of Vallee J. to the trial judge, as all parties acknowledge. He did not err in declining to enforce a penalty that appeared to be disproportionate to the degree of non-disclosure. Because this was an interlocutory order, it is not appealable to this court. The appeal is quashed with costs payable by the appellant to the respondent in the amount of $15,000, all inclusive.

"G.R. Strathy C.J.O." "P. Lauwers J.A." "L. Sossin J.A."