William Abbott

Decision on costs following a family law trial involving divorce and corollary relief including child support, property equalization, and the validity of a second mortgage on the matrimonial home.

The applicant was the successful party and sought full indemnity costs of $123,484.47.

The court found the respondent acted in bad faith by failing to comply with disclosure obligations despite court orders, and that the applicant's trial result met or exceeded her offers to settle.

The respondent's costs submissions improperly attempted to re-litigate the trial.

Full recovery costs of $123,484.47 were awarded, payable from the net proceeds of sale of the matrimonial home with any remainder as a debt.

The parties separated after eight years of marriage and have one child with Type 1 diabetes.

Both parties brought motions for interim relief regarding parenting, support, and the matrimonial home.

The court ordered joint decision-making and a graduated parenting schedule leading to equal time.

For support purposes, the court imputed an income of $25,000 to the applicant and determined the respondent's income at $1,192,666 based on a three-year average, excluding certain non-recurring amounts.

The court ordered interim child and spousal support, the sale of the matrimonial home, and an advance of $120,000 to the applicant for interim disbursements.

The parties separated but continued to live in the matrimonial home with their 11-year-old child.

Due to escalating conflict, both parties brought motions seeking physical separation; the applicant mother sought exclusive possession of the matrimonial home, while the respondent father sought a temporary nesting order.

The court granted the mother exclusive possession, finding that a nesting order would perpetuate conflict and that the father had superior financial means to secure alternative accommodation.

The court also ordered a week-about shared parenting schedule, finding it in the child's best interests to maintain maximum contact with both capable parents.

The applicant wife and respondent husband have been litigating their family law matter for over 12 years.

The applicant brought a motion seeking extensive disclosure from the husband and his business partner, $150,000 in interim disbursements under Rule 24(12), and payment of past support and section 7 expenses.

The respondent husband brought a cross-motion seeking disclosure, termination of child support for their 24-year-old daughter, and a variation of a 2008 temporary spousal support order to impute income to the applicant.

The court dismissed the applicant's motion in its entirety, finding she failed to meet the test for interim disbursements and that the disclosure requests were either already satisfied or unsupported by evidence.

The court granted the husband's request to terminate child support as the child was no longer living with either parent and was employed.

The court also ordered the applicant to provide disclosure.

However, the court declined to vary the temporary spousal support order on the eve of trial, directing the parties to proceed to trial in 2018.

The father sought costs following a bifurcated parenting trial where the court largely adopted the recommendations of a joint custody and access assessment.

The mother had initially sought sole custody but changed her position to shared custody during the trial.

The court found the mother's approach unreasonable and noted her counsel contributed to unnecessarily extending the trial.

The father was awarded $50,000 in costs, inclusive of disbursements, plus the full cost of the expert's court attendance.

The appellant appealed an arbitration award determining retroactive and prospective child support and costs following a dispute arising from a separation agreement.

The arbitrator had found that the payor parent failed to provide adequate financial disclosure and imputed substantial income based on corporate earnings, discretionary expenses, and adverse inferences under the Federal Child Support Guidelines.

The arbitrator ordered retroactive child support back to 2009 and prospective support based on table amounts, together with significant arbitration costs.

The court held that the arbitrator committed no reviewable error in interpreting the separation agreement, imputing income, attributing corporate pre‑tax income, or awarding retroactive support, and deferred to the arbitrator’s factual and credibility findings.

However, the court found the arbitrator’s reasoning on costs insufficient and reduced the costs award.

On an interim family law motion, the responding spouse sought partition and sale of a non‑matrimonial rental property, interim disbursements to retain an income valuation expert, imputation of income to the other spouse, and interim child and spousal support.

The court declined to order partition and sale on an interim motion, finding the issue better determined at trial given disputed equity and mortgage claims involving family members.

The court exercised its discretion under the Family Law Rules to order partial interim disbursements to fund an income analysis.

Applying s. 19(1) of the Child Support Guidelines, the court imputed limited income for certain employment benefits but rejected broader lifestyle‑based imputations tied to discretionary gifts from family or a family‑owned business.

Interim child support was ordered based on the adjusted income, with retroactive support, while determination of interim spousal support was deferred pending updated calculations.