Court Costs

with Lauri Daitchman

Transcript of Court Costs

Please note: The script may not be exactly what is spoken, but contains the same information as presented in the video.

In family law cases, there is a presumption that the successful party is entitled to costs. This means that there is a presumption that the unsuccessful party will have to pay a portion of the successful party’s legal fees. This presumption is rebutted if the successful party acted unreasonably.

When deciding whether a party acted reasonably, the courts will look at the party’s behaviour and the reasonableness of any offers made. Some of the other factors relevant to deciding costs include: whether the parties were prepared for court, whether the parties acted in bad faith, the importance, complexity, or difficult of the issues, and the lawyer’s rates.

Costs are awarded at each step in the case. This means that the judge should decide costs at the end of each motion, case, or appeal. The judge can also reserve costs, meaning that a costs decision will be made at a later date.

Costs are awarded to encourage the parties to be reasonable, to encourage parties to settle, and to prevent parties from commencing unnecessary court actions and motions.

This means that it is important for parties to be reasonable throughout their case and to make reasonable Offers to Settle when appropriate. Offers to Settle can reduce the risk that you will be required to pay costs.

Offers to Settle have many other benefits as well. If accepted, Offers bring about resolution of some or all of the issues in dispute. If partially accepted, they help narrow the issues in dispute, which allows the parties and their lawyers to focus on the remaining issues. Even if not accepted, Offers help the parties understand each other’s positions on the issues, which aides in negotiation and settlement. If you do not make an Offer to Settle (or if your Offer is unreasonable), a significant costs award could be made against you.

As such, if parties do not act reasonably, do not make any offers to settle, or reject or ignore reasonable offers made by the other party, they risk being required to pay a portion of the other party’s legal fees, which will increase the costs of litigation. Attending court is almost always expensive and having to pay a portion of the other party’s legal fess can double the costs of litigation. This is why costs and Offers to Settle are an important part of almost every family law matter.