Court File and Parties
COURT FILE NO.: 140/15 DATE: 2016-09-19 SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE - ONTARIO
RE: Eugenia Karagiannis, Applicant AND: John Karagiannis, Respondent
BEFORE: Mr Justice Ramsay
COUNSEL: Mr Herschel Fogelman for the Applicant Mr David Shapiro for the Respondent
Endorsement
[1] The Applicant moves for full indemnity for costs of $21,661.06 with respect to motions disposed of by me on September 1, 2016: Karagiannis v. Karagiannis, 2016 ONSC 5521. The Respondent submits that there should be no order as to costs or that each party should pay costs on the same basis according to which party was successful, motion by motion.
[2] I made the following decisions:
a. I granted the Respondent leave to amend his Answer; b. I declined to order the Applicant to make productions; c. I ordered the Respondent to make productions. d. I declined to order the Respondent to pay costs thrown away for the cancelled appointment for questioning, since he gave enough notice of his refusal to attend that no costs need have been thrown away; e. I ordered the Respondent to pay interim spousal support at a rate of $3,400 a month. He declined an offer to settle for $1,200 a month interim support.
[3] The bill of costs strikes me as reasonable given the importance of the issues and the work involved. The motion for spousal support was most significant and would have taken the most effort to prepare. The order for the Respondent to make productions was also very significant, since the requested documents are necessary for the Applicant to make her case on equalization and final spousal support.
[4] The Respondent fired his wife from the family firm after 46 years, even though she had actually been working there and participating in producing the family assets all that time. I am convinced that his overall litigation strategy is to delay the Applicant in realizing whatever her rightful award might be in order to force her to make a favourable settlement. Because of that and the offer to settle I think that the Respondent should pay full indemnity, less some amount for the two minor motions on which he was successful. I order the Respondent to pay forthwith $18,000 costs. For enforcement purposes these costs are to be treated as costs incurred to obtain spousal support.