Rebecca D. Organ

Following the dismissal of the mother's appeal from two family law arbitration awards, the father sought full recovery of costs totaling $99,284.63 based on offers to settle.

The mother argued for no costs or costs fixed at $20,000.

The court found the father was presumptively entitled to full recovery of costs from the date of his first offer to settle, which was as favourable as the outcome of the appeal.

After considering the principles of proportionality and reasonableness, and noting discrepancies in the hours docketed by both sides, the court fixed the father's costs at $70,000 inclusive of fees, disbursements, and HST.

The mother appealed two arbitration awards that granted the father equal parenting time and ordered her to pay $25,000 in costs.

She argued the arbitrator erred in applying the best interests of the child test, changing the parenting schedule without expert evidence, and assuming equal time would reduce conflict.

The mother also sought to introduce fresh evidence, including an affidavit from a former therapist.

The Superior Court of Justice dismissed the appeal, finding no palpable and overriding errors in the arbitrator's decisions.

The court also rejected most of the fresh evidence, noting the therapist did not qualify as a participant expert and the evidence did not meet the Palmer test.

Following a motion and cross-motion with divided success, the applicant sought costs of $25,000.

The respondent argued for no costs or costs reserved, citing limited means and divided success.

The court found the applicant was presumed entitled to costs as the respondent's motion was dismissed and the applicant achieved some success.

The court fixed costs at $12,000 on a partial indemnity basis, payable by the respondent within 120 days due to his limited means.

The parties were involved in a family law dispute over custody and access.

The applicant obtained an ex parte Anton Piller order and an order for supervised access based on evidence from a witness (C.B.W.) alleging the respondent solicited sexual services from minors.

The respondent brought a motion to question C.B.W. before filing responding evidence, citing concerns about self-incrimination in an ongoing police investigation.

The applicant brought a cross-motion to compel the respondent to file responding evidence and attend questioning.

The court dismissed the respondent's motion, finding it would be unfair to allow questioning without reply evidence.

The court granted the applicant's motion, ordering the respondent to file responding affidavits and attend questioning, holding that the best interests of the child outweighed the respondent's self-incrimination concerns.