NEWMARKET COURT FILE NO.: FC-12-41735-00
DATE: 20130814
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE - ONTARIO
RE: DONNA VASELOFF, Applicant
AND:
JOHN LEO, Respondent
BEFORE: THE HON. MADAM JUSTICE S.E. HEALEY
COUNSEL: P. Zammit, for the Applicant
S. Kalra, for the Respondent
HEARD: August 7, 2013
Endorsement on Motion
Nature of the Motion
[1] While waiting for their motions to be heard, the parties settled the applicant's motion in part and the respondent's motion in its entirety. The issues remaining for argument were:
spousal support;
disclosure of the respondent's medical records; and
a restraining order.
Spousal Support
[2] The parties had a marriage of nine years' duration and separated on July 19, 2012. The applicant is 54 and the respondent is 58. There are no children of the marriage and neither has any other dependants.
[3] At the time of the marriage the applicant was employed as a bookkeeper at a medical clinic. She maintained this employment throughout the marriage and continues to be so employed. Her income is somewhat in dispute due to challenges made by the respondent to her declared rental income and expenses, as well as motor vehicle expense deductions, but a decision is not required on these fairly minor points in order to determine this motion. For the purposes of this motion, I will accept the applicant's evidence from her most recent financial statement, showing that her 2012 gross income from all sources was $43,057.
[4] The respondent's income is not in dispute. His 2012 income was $131,086.
[5] The applicant seeks a temporary order for spousal support in the amount of $2,717 per month commencing August 1, 2013. She also seeks retroactive support from July 19, 2012 to and including July 1, 2013 in the amount of $1,219 per month. Mr. Zammit asserts that she has been economically disadvantaged by the breakdown of the marriage, as demonstrated by the fact that both her current and proposed budgets show a deficit. In her most recent financial statement sworn August 2, 2013, her monthly expenses are shown as totalling $5,450.18, as compared to her monthly income from all sources of $3,588.05. Mr. Zammit argues that her need is further demonstrated by the fact that the applicant's debts have increased by $20,000 since the date of separation, and her bank account savings have decreased by approximately $17,000. Counsel also draws to the court's attention that the respondent has a surplus of income over expenses shown in his financial statement of November 13, 2012. He asserts that the parties' lifestyles should be aligned such that each is able to meet his or her expenses on a monthly basis without running a deficit. In making this submission he relies on the decision of Cradduck v. Cradduck (Ont.S.C.), in which Granger J. ordered that the parties’ incomes, a difference of $160,000, be equalized following a marriage of some 40 years’ duration. During a significant portion of the marriage Mrs. Cradduck remained out of the workforce to raise their children. An interim spousal support award of $5,000 was made in Cradduck.
[6] The facts of this case are substantially different. The applicant experienced no career interruption as a result of the marriage, and there are no children. Although her affidavit alleges that she performed all homemaking and home maintenance tasks, this fact is in dispute and is not a significant enough issue, on the facts of this case, to influence the determination of this motion. The applicant now lives in the matrimonial home, which is unencumbered, and has income from a rental property.
[7] The respondent’s counsel has approached the applicant's sworn financial statements with some skepticism, which is shared by this court because of what they reveal. In particular, in her financial statement sworn September 28, 2012, she lists monthly expenses of $4,065, $1,000 of which was comprised of groceries and meals outside of the home. She had no debt as of September 28, 2012, and if her financial statement is reliable, had completely paid off a $6,000 Scotiabank Visa debt existing on the date of separation, within the two months following the separation. In her second financial statement sworn August 2, 2013, she has increased her monthly expenses to $5,453.18, which include debt payments of $950 per month. Groceries and meals outside the home have been reduced to a more modest amount of $550 per month. In the 11 months between the dates of the two financial statements the applicant's Scotiabank Visa debt increased to $16,607, and she appears to have obtained two