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Costs to the unsuccessful party?

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  • Costs to the unsuccessful party?

    Hi All,

    My trial finished in late Spring and I was awarded sole custody of my kids and primary residency. Their Mother's custody has been reduced from joint to myself having sole and access has been reduced to one night per week and every other weekend from every other full week in previous.

    We made a fair costs submission to her side (she is on legal aid) and they rejected it. We then filed officially with the courts for costs. We just received their reply and they are asking for me to pay HER costs despite the fact that we won the case & proved our point fairly successfully. I've been dragged through court on and off for 7 years by someone who has relied on the fact that she has used legal aid like her personal piggy bank. She's constantly defied orders, changed lawyers and never followed the previous judge's orders throughout the process. Her lawyer even went so far to provide a cost analysis of the breakdown of her costs showing what was her reduced billed fee (she never says her client is on legal aid) vs what she would normally have charged. I've never heard of this or seen this in my life. I'm actually shocked. Is this just a last ditch attempt? Has anyone ever heard of this? It seems to me her lawyer is relying on the fact that we didn't get everything we requested of the judge therefore we were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, our offer to her was almost EXACTLY what the judge's final outcome was and again, there was a huge shift in custody and access alongside other major orders we've been asking for for year.

    Would love some input here from those who've walked this out and/or any lawyers on this forum. Thx!

  • #2
    Sometimes Legal Aid Is the Problem, Not the Solution

    This article summarizes the issues of Legal Aid in Family Law quite well. I couldn't do it better so I am posting it here for you.

    Sometimes Legal Aid is the Problem, Not the Solution – Slaw

    Abuse of legal aid in this way is increasingly becoming the norm in family law rather than the exception. Only in the few instances where matters proceed to trial and receive thorough judicial scrutiny are parties faced with any accountability through cost consequences. Some members of the judiciary could therefore be excused for being oblivious to these “all too common” dynamics, but the lawyers receiving these certificates or opposing reform should not be.
    -- "Legal Aid gives you wings." - WorkingDad

    If what you are saying is even remotely close to reality this is the case law to submit with your costs submission:

    https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/do...1onsc7476.html
    Last edited by Tayken; 08-24-2017, 10:13 AM.

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    • #3
      This is a beautiful piece of caselaw and very accurate. Thank you for this!!! This will form part of our answer.

      If what you are saying is even remotely close to reality this is the case law to submit with your costs submission:

      https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/do...1onsc7476.html[/QUOTE]

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      • #4
        Originally posted by vocalfather View Post
        This is a beautiful piece of caselaw and very accurate. Thank you for this!!! This will form part of our answer.
        You can thank a forum member for generating that case law. As well as many people on this forum for helping that person too.

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        • #5
          Thank you all!


          Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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