Court File and Parties
COURT FILE NO.: 15-88 DATE: June 27, 2018
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE - ONTARIO
RE: Stairs v Tait BETWEEN: Lindsay Stairs, Applicant and Aaron Tait, Respondent
BEFORE: Honourable Mr Justice Martin James
COUNSEL: Thomas J. Prince for the Applicant Victoria Legris for the Respondent
COSTS ENDORSEMENT
[1] This is a costs endorsement following a contempt motion brought by Lindsay Stairs in a family law proceeding.
[2] Ms. Stairs raised several issues in her notice of motion and was partially successful. The degree of success is a matter of dispute between the parties as this question bears on the quantum of costs to be awarded.
[3] The moving party claims full indemnity costs of $2,764 or alternatively substantial indemnity costs of $2,066 or partial indemnity costs of $1,653.
[4] A successful contempt motion usually results in a costs order in favour of the moving party that approaches full indemnity for that party’s actual legal expenses.
[5] In this case there was a reasonable basis for bringing the motion because the respondent was not communicating in a productive and meaningful manner despite having expressly agreeing to use a communication book. The respondent’s email threatening to report Ms. Stairs’s lawyer to the police for harassment was instructive as to his attitude regarding communications.
[6] At the same time I had the impression that Ms. Stairs was somewhat oppressive in her requests regarding the children’s activities during the respondent’s parenting time and that she had added items to her list of complaints to enhance the cumulative effect of the respondent’s omissions.
[7] The respondent says that the moving party’s limited success warrants a costs order of only a few hundred dollars. I do not agree that the costs should be reduced in the fashion proposed by the respondent. Nor do I agree that the apparent failure of the lawyers to make a timely agreement on a timetable for the delivery of costs submissions should be visited upon the applicant.
[8] In the result the applicant shall have her costs fixed in the sum of $1200 all inclusive, payable by the respondent forthwith.
James, J. DATE: June 27, 2018