Following a family law trial concerning enforcement of a prior custody and relocation order, the parties settled mid‑trial and asked the court to determine costs.
The moving party had served earlier offers to settle that were as favourable or more favourable than the eventual settlement terms.
Applying Rules 18(14) and 24 of the Family Law Rules, the court held that a party who achieves a result as favourable as their offer is presumptively entitled to full recovery of costs, even where the final order arises from minutes of settlement rather than adjudication.
The court found the moving party’s conduct reasonable and the opposing party’s litigation conduct unfocused and unnecessarily expansive.
Despite the responding party’s limited financial means, the court concluded entitlement to costs remained and fixed costs at $55,000 inclusive of disbursements and HST.
