Sarah Razzouk

Following a bifurcated motion where the applicant husband successfully obtained a stay of temporary support orders and the release of trust funds, he sought full indemnity costs of $17,986.37.

The respondent wife argued against a costs award due to her limited financial means.

The court considered the factors under Rule 24 of the Family Law Rules, including reasonableness, proportionality, and the wife's ability to pay.

The court ordered the respondent wife to pay costs fixed at $11,500, payable in any event of the cause.

The applicant husband, an airline pilot, brought a motion to vary or stay temporary child and spousal support orders and to release funds from the sale of the matrimonial home.

The husband had lost his employment due to a voluntary leave of absence for immigration purposes, followed by pandemic-related layoffs and the onset of tinnitus.

The court found that the husband met the test for an interim variation, as he currently had no income and was not intentionally underemployed given the pandemic and his medical condition.

The court suspended the husband's support obligations on an interim basis and ordered the release of $35,000 to each party from the matrimonial home proceeds.

The parties separated after immigrating to Canada from Iraq.

The court determined the date of separation to be April 7, 2016, when the respondent left the matrimonial home.

The court found the respondent was unjustly enriched after he dissipated $222,229.29 from a joint line of credit by sending it to his brother in Iraq, and ordered restitution.

The court maintained the existing custody and child support orders, calculated support arrears, and denied the respondent's request to travel with the children to Iraq due to the risk of abduction.

The respondent's claim for occupation rent was dismissed, and the applicant was awarded costs on a substantial indemnity scale.