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
[1] I wish I saw more costs submissions like this.
[2] The 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.
[3] The mother was successful. She is presumptively entitled to costs.
[4] The 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.
[5] But the father also filed an offer. It represented a genuine effort to settle.
[6] There is mutual agreement that neither party acted unreasonably or in bad faith.
[7] Both parties’ positions were rooted in a genuine desire to maximize their time with their son.
[8] Both parties were trying to make the best of limited options and complex scheduling constraints.
[9] They negotiated resolution of all their other issues.
[10] They reached an impasse on this one remaining issue.
[11] They needed someone to make an “either/or” decision. And my decision was a close call.
[12] The 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.
[13] Even in their costs submissions, the parties were respectful and magnanimous. They want to stay friends.
[14] No costs.
Pazaratz J. Released: April 28, 2022