Pritinder Nanda

The Ontario Court of Justice granted the respondent father an extension to file his Answer/Claim in a parenting and child support matter after missing the original 60-day deadline.

The mother sought costs of $10,000 for an uncontested hearing that did not proceed due to the father's delay.

The court applied the amended Family Law Rules and relevant case law on costs thrown away, finding the father in default and acting unreasonably by withholding the child and resisting enforcement of court orders.

The court awarded the mother $4,500 in costs for preparation and attendance on the adjourned hearing date, emphasizing proportionality and reasonableness in costs assessment.

The moving party brought a motion for leave to appeal a lower court decision.

The Divisional Court dismissed the motion for leave to appeal without costs, noting that the responding party did not seek costs or file a costs outline.

This Ontario Court of Justice decision addresses parenting and child support issues following the separation of V.T. and L.V.R. The mother sought sole decision-making responsibility, retroactive child support, and ongoing section 7 expenses, while the father sought joint decision-making and shared parenting time.

The court found that the mother should have sole decision-making responsibility and that the father's parenting time schedule remain as is, due to the lack of sufficient cooperation for equal sharing.

The court imputed income to the father higher than reported, including cash income and grossed-up amounts for unpaid taxes, resulting in retroactive child support arrears of $30,158.

The decision also outlines detailed parenting time schedules, holiday arrangements, travel provisions, and financial disclosure obligations.