Costs Endorsement

Court File No.: FS-19-00000038-0000
Date: 2025-01-10
Court: Superior Court of Justice - Ontario

Parties

Applicant: C.C.
Respondent: S.C.

Before

Justice: C. Conlan

Counsel

• C.C., self-represented
• Joelle Ruskin, for the Respondent

Introduction

This is a costs endorsement relating to the Respondent father's motion heard on September 10, 2024 and decided on September 18, 2024, C.C. v. S.C., 2024 ONSC 5257.

Submissions on Costs

In response to this Court’s direction on costs, the successful Respondent filed written submissions dated October 7, 2024, seeking full indemnity costs in the total amount of $11,980.82. The Applicant mother filed nothing. This Court waited several extra weeks and directed that the court office advise the Applicant in writing about the outstanding issue of costs, which was done, but still the Applicant filed nothing.

Order

As per subrule 24(8) of the Family Law Rules, this Court orders that the Applicant shall pay full recovery costs to the Respondent in the total amount of $11,980.82. Those costs shall be paid immediately.

Reasons

In my view, that award is a fair, just, reasonable, and proportionate quantum of costs in all of the circumstances of this case, which circumstances include the mother’s bad faith conduct as described in detail in this Court’s decision dated September 18, 2024. The Applicant’s lengthy history of litigation intransigence, of violating court orders, of repeatedly advancing meritless motions based on unfounded allegations against the Respondent, and of persistently and without reasonable grounds instituting vexatious proceedings and then conducting those proceedings in a vexatious manner, rises to the level of bad faith conduct on the part of the Applicant, and I expressly make that finding.

Justice C. Conlan
Date: January 10, 2025