Court File and Parties
Court File No.: 597-18 Date: 2022-04-28 Ontario Superior Court of Justice
Between: Joseph Keith Donovan Bonnay, Applicant – and – Tanya Marie Hines, Respondent
Counsel: Deborah Barfknecht, for the Applicant Jennifer Vandenberg, for the Respondent
Judgment
The Honourable Mr. Justice A. Pazaratz
1I wish I saw more costs submissions like this.
2The narrow issue on this motion was how to schedule a fourth weekend of parenting time for a five-year-old child, given complex considerations of blended families and work schedules.
3The mother was successful. She is presumptively entitled to costs.
4The mother served and filed an offer which exceeded the result she obtained. She is presumptively entitled to full recovery from the date the offer was served.
5But the father also filed an offer. It represented a genuine effort to settle.
6There is mutual agreement that neither party acted unreasonably or in bad faith.
7Both parties’ positions were rooted in a genuine desire to maximize their time with their son.
8Both parties were trying to make the best of limited options and complex scheduling constraints.
9They negotiated resolution of all their other issues.
10They reached an impasse on this one remaining issue.
11They needed someone to make an “either/or” decision. And my decision was a close call.
12The mother didn’t ask for any specific amount and didn’t submit a bill of costs. She said she’d leave it in my discretion.
13Even in their costs submissions, the parties were respectful and magnanimous. They want to stay friends.
14No costs.
Pazaratz J.
Released: April 28, 2022