Tina Margellis

This endorsement addresses the issue of costs following the dismissal of the plaintiff's motion on April 28, 2017.

The defendant sought costs ranging from partial indemnity to substantial indemnity, while the plaintiff proposed partial indemnity costs of approximately $2295.

The court, exercising its discretion under s. 131 of the Courts of Justice Act and Rule 57.01, determined that the case did not merit substantial indemnity costs.

Costs were fixed at $4,000, payable forthwith by the plaintiff to the defendant.

This was a family law costs ruling following a protracted international custody and access dispute involving Hague Convention return proceedings in Brazil and subsequent litigation in Ontario.

The court held the applicant was fully successful in the Hague Convention proceeding and entitled to full indemnity costs for that process.

In the Ontario proceeding, the court found divided success on the major custody issue, but concluded the respondent's unreasonable conduct significantly prolonged the litigation and increased the applicant's costs.

The court declined to find bad faith, but awarded the applicant a reasonable costs amount for the Ontario proceedings in addition to the Brazil-related costs.

In a family law proceeding, the court issued a supplementary endorsement confirming scheduling directions previously provided.

The trial was ordered to proceed for seven days commencing the week of November 12, 2013.

The court directed that failure by either party to obtain and deliver specified expert reports would not result in vacating the scheduled trial date.

The parties were permitted to consider amending pleadings and undertaking disclosure relating to child support and equalization, but the court emphasized that adding issues must not delay the scheduled trial.