Court File and Parties

Court File No.: FS-18-76 Date: 2018-09-10 Superior Court of Justice - Ontario

Re: Robert Willis, Applicant And: Fei Hung, Respondent

Before: Justice G.D. Lemon

Counsel: Michael A. McKee, Counsel for the Applicant Marcy Segal, Counsel for the Respondent

Heard: August 31, 2018

Endorsement

The Issue

[1] Ms. Hung moves for an order finding Mr. Willis in contempt of the order of Justice Bloom dated April 25, 2018.

[2] She also seeks an order for the delivery of Mr. Willis’ 2015, 2016 and 2017 tax returns and Notices of Assessment. She asks for an order requiring Mr. Willis to attend for questioning. As a result of Mr. Willis’ failing to provide the information pursuant to the order of Justice Bloom, she asks that he pay a fine and an amount in penalty.

[3] Finally, she seeks an order that Mr. Willis pay $40,000 into court for the purpose of “preservation.”

Background

[4] Mr. Willis commenced this proceeding in the Superior Court in 2017. He sought an order for the sale of the Ms. Hung’s property and the parties’ business. He also requested an order to retrieve items of personal property from Ms. Hung.

[5] By order of Justice Boswell, the matter was transferred to the family court at Oshawa. At that time, Justice Boswell ordered Mr. Willis to, within one week, “provide an accounting of any monies removed from the TD safety deposit box and will preserve those funds pending further order.”

[6] On November 1, 2017, the proceeding was transferred to Brampton.

[7] On March 13, 2018, Ms. Hung filed her Answer and Financial Statement. In her Answer, she claimed an equalization of property, spousal support, the return of funds and a variety of general damage claims.

[8] On April 17, 2018, Mr. Willis filed his Financial Statement without income tax returns attached. He did file his T4’s for 2015, 2016 and 2017.

[9] A case conference was held in this matter before Bloom J on April 25, 2018. Justice Bloom ordered that:

1. The applicant shall provide to the respondent within 30 days copies of his 2015, 2016 and 2017 income tax returns, his Notices of Assessment for those years if issued and his financial statement.
2. Mutual questioning of three hours maximum for each party except on the sexual assault allegations to take place by June 15, 2018.

[10] On May 17, 2018, after both filling his Financial Statement and being ordered to produce his income tax returns, Mr. Willis filed a 14B motion to file his Financial Statement without his last three years’ Notices of Assessment. A supporting affidavit came from a law clerk in Mr. Willis’s lawyer’s office. That affidavit makes no reference to the order of Justice Bloom. On May 30, 2018, Justice Andre ordered that Mr. Willis was “free to file his financial statement without attaching his tax returns or Notices of Assessment.”

[11] A summary judgment motion has been set for a date in October. Ms. Segal confirms that it is ready to proceed regardless of the issues outstanding in this motion.

Contempt

[12] Counsel for Ms. Hung acknowledged that the motion was not personally served upon Mr. Willis. She also confirmed that the proper notice of motion for a contempt order was not served. Accordingly that aspect of the motion was withdrawn.

Questioning

[13] Prior to argument, the parties agreed that Mr. Willis would attend for questioning on September 10, 2018 at 10 a.m. at Network West Reporting and Mediation, 77 Centre Drive. I so order.

Tax Returns and Notices of Assessment

[14] Mr. Willis acknowledges that he has not provided the income tax documents as ordered. Counsel for Mr. Willis suggested that Justice Andre’s order relieved Mr. Willis from filing his income tax returns. However, the motion to Andre J. did not refer to Justice Bloom’s order. That failure alone sets aside Justice Andre’s order. In any event, Justice Andre only dealt with the manner of filing Mr. Willis’s financial statement; it did not relieve him of his disclosure duties.

[15] Mr. Willis’ counsel also suggested that since Mr. Willis had not filed his income tax returns with the CRA, he had nothing with which to comply with Justice Boom’s order. He submits that he did not agree to file, only to provide copies if he did file. However, the order did not say that Mr. Willis could choose whether or not to file his income tax returns with the CRA. It said that they were to be provided to Ms. Hung along with notices of assessment. Refusing or failing to file with the CRA was not an option open to Mr. Willis.

[16] Given those circumstances, Mr. Willis shall both file his tax returns with the CRA for 2015, 2016 and 2017 and also provide them to Ms. Hung within 30 days of August 31, 2018. He shall provide his Notices of Assessments to Ms. Hung within 5 days of his receipt of those documents from the CRA.

Payment into Court

[17] The order of Justice Boswell has already resolved this issue prior to the motion. It is res judicata. There were submissions that Mr. Willis had not complied with that order; however, there was no material before me to support that submission. Without further evidence, this request is dismissed without prejudice to a further motion on proper material.

Costs

[18] Both parties requested costs of the motion. Given the demands of the court day, I asked for them in writing. Mr. Willis has already provided his. In those circumstances, Ms. Hung shall provide her costs submissions and any response to Mr. Willis’ submissions within the next 15 days. Mr. Willis shall provide his reply submissions within 15 days thereafter.

[19] Each submission shall be no more than three pages, not including any Bills of Costs or Offers to Settle.

[20] Written submissions shall be forwarded to me at my office at the Superior Court Office, 74 Woolwich Street, Guelph, Ontario, N1H 3T9.

Lemon J. Date: September 10, 2018