CITATION: Stever v. Lewis, 2026 ONSC 2132

COURT FILE NO.: FC-21-21

DATE: 2026/04/10

SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE - ONTARIO

RE: Matthew Clayton Lloyd Stever, Applicant

-and-

Nicole Rose Lewis, Respondent

COUNSEL: Peter Sammon, for the Applicant

Richard Bowles, for the Respondent

HEARD: In Writing

COSTS Decision

AUDET J.

[1] On January 5, 2026, I released my decision following a three-day trial dealing with issues of unjust enrichment, the determination of income for the mother, and child and spousal support. If the parties were unable to agree on costs, they were permitted to provide written submissions.

[2] Having reviewed these submissions, I order the respondent, Ms. Lewis, to pay the Applicant, Mr. Stever, costs in the amount of $22,000, for the following main reasons.

[3] Mr. Stever was undoubtedly the successful party on the two issues that consumed most of the trial time and prior preparation: he successfully defended Ms. Lewis’ claims based on unjust enrichment and sought to impute a higher income to her for the purpose of establishing his child and spousal support obligations. Although he did not fully succeed on the quantum of his support obligation, this was not because he denied his obligation to pay support, but rather because the income imputed to Ms. Lewis was not as high as he had sought.

[4] While I agree that Ms. Lewis’ unjust enrichment claim was quite weak, that she sought to amend her pleadings to include these claims three years after the commencement of the proceeding, and that she only abandoned her resulting trust claim on the first day of trial, this conduct, in and of itself, does not amount to unreasonableness for the purpose of this cost assessment. It is, however, highly relevant to determining the appropriate amount of costs in the circumstances.

[5] Mr. Stever made a stand-alone offer to settle Ms. Lewis’ unjust enrichment and equitable claims on September 13, 2024. That offer would have been far more advantageous to Ms. Lewis than the outcome she achieved at trial. As a result, Mr. Stever is entitled to his full recovery costs from September 13, 2024 onward, which are fixed at $22,000. This amount includes the costs incurred in relation to Ms. Lewis’ 2024 motion to amend her pleadings, which were left to the trial judge.

[6] Given the divided success on the issues of income imputation and the quantification of child and spousal support, Mr. Stever is not seeking costs on those issues. In my view, this is a reasonable position. I do not agree with Ms. Lewis’ submission that she was the successful party on the support issues. Her best offer to settle would have required Mr. Stever to pay significantly more in combined child and spousal support than the amounts ultimately ordered at trial, although I acknowledge that her offer included a termination date for spousal support that I did not impose.

[7] In the circumstances, I am of the view that no costs should be awarded in relation to the support issues, given the parties’ clearly divided success.

[8] I am not prepared to consider Ms. Lewis’ alleged impecuniosity as a basis to reduce the costs to which Mr. Stever is entitled on the unjust enrichment and resulting trust issues. Ms. Lewis was able to retain and pay experienced counsel to pursue these very weak claims through to trial. While that was a choice she was entitled to, Mr. Stever should not bear the financial consequences of that decision. Ms. Lewis was well aware of the potential cost consequences of unsuccessfully pursuing these claims, given the legal fees she herself incurred.

[9] For all these reasons, I order Ms. Lewis to pay Mr. Stever costs in the amount of $22,000 forthwith. This cost award relates solely to the issues that proceeded to trial and includes only steps in the proceeding for which costs had not already been addressed. This award is in addition to any prior costs awards made in this proceeding, all of which remain payable in full.

Madam Justice J. Audet

Date: April 10, 2026

CITATION: Stever v. Lewis, 2026 ONSC 2132

COURT FILE NO.: FC-21-21

DATE: 2026/04/10

ONTARIO

SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE

BETWEEN

Matthew Clayton Lloyd Stever

Applicant

-and-

Nicole Rose Lewis

Respondent

Costs Decision

J. AUDET J.

Released: April 10, 2026