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Blindsided at costs hearing

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  • Blindsided at costs hearing

    So yesterday was supposed to be the start of my wife's court case with her ex, almost two years after serving him with the original papers. We were prepared to go to trial but the court required both parties to appear this past Monday as a last ditch effort to settle...which we did. From my perspective, the settlement order ended up being equivalent to or better than the offer which we proposed back in November of last year (though its up for some interpretation...I'll describe in a minute). So yesterday we appeared in court to adjudicate costs. Given that the settlement was achieved two days before trial, a great deal of legal costs were expended in the last couple weeks in preparation. We felt we had a good chance at recouping a good proportion of our costs, but justice did not prevail and we ended up with nothing. The judge declared that since she did not have all the benefit of seeing evidence in a trial, she could not form context around her decision, and her decision was that the settlement represented a mixed result.

    I would like to consider appealing (and representing my wife) based on the grounds that the last minute settlement meeting (as required by the court) made it such that we were at a disadvantage at the costs hearing. Also, our settlement included a number of lump sum payments as compared to our November offer which required slightly more money but paid out over a much longer period (years). My position is that a lump sum payment is worth more than a prolonged payback period and intend to get some help from my financial consultant to analyze the two packages. Just looking for some feedback and some advice on whether to file an appeal and where I should start looking for advice on representing my wife.

  • #2
    You would have to find a flaw in the judges argument to appeal. That the judge made a mistake.

    Costs is difficult to judge as it relates to trial. Many people have gone to court, expended a great deal of money and then at the last minute settled. They don’t get costs either.

    The judge is right that they cannot determine costs as there were mixed results. Just because you got one over the list of things doesnt mean you automatically get costs. You have to have a large enough win to demonstrate that the money spent was a waste.

    For example, in my husbands appearance, his ex requested 15 items, she got none. All of the items were irrelevant to the matter before the court. When the judge gave the answer on costs, initially he said he would not order costs as they had both been reasonable. My husbands lawyer argued that the day was completely unnecessary and there was not even one thing the ex won. The judge agreed and only ordered half his costs to be paid.

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    • #3
      Thanks Rockscan,

      Its sounding more and more like the odds are stacked against us in an appeal process. I would definitely argue that we got mixed results though, as the are major advantages to getting lump sum payments. In my opinion, the judge should have at least considered this...I think our final settlement was only about $4,000 difference between our November offer to settle...the $4,000 difference would disappear pretty quick when you consider the added interest benefit of either investing the lump sum or paying off debt versus a payment plan over the next 6-7 years.

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      • #4
        Costs are tricky and difficult to predict. If it makes you feel better, we have now spent almost $8000 on a matter the judge even said was a simple math equation. When you are dealing with an unreasonable ex you end up spending a lot more money on legal fees. The saddest part for us is that she can now claim some of her costs on her income tax because it involves child support. All of which she wouldn’t have had to pay if she got through her head that she wasn’t entitled to child support amounts of her choosing.

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        • #5
          Thanks...I do take some solace in the fact we're not alone...definitely a flawed system though. Between them, they paid almost $50k on legal fees...who loses in all these cases...most times the kids.

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          • #6
            When two parties settle, that is in many ways equivalent to both parties making the same offer to settle, and then accepting that offer. Therefore, there was no winner.

            I have rarely seen a successfully appealed costs order. Once you lose the appeal, you will of course be ordered to pay costs.

            The battle is over. Let the war end as well.

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