Summary

37191

Merrill Kucher v. Kirk Brown

(British Columbia) (Civil) (By Leave)

Keywords

None.

Summary

Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

Family law – Support – Child support – Whether retroactive child support is payable and, if so, for what duration – Costs – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in dismissing the application for a stay of execution of costs awards – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding the abandonment of a child was insufficiently blameworthy to be assigned substantial weight by the trial judge in making a determination about retroactive child support – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in the standard of review by applying the correctness standard to a discretionary final support order, when considering the trial judge’s determination and assignation of weight to the various factors – Federal Child Support Guidelines, SOR/97-175.

Ms. Kucher, the applicant, and Mr. Brown had a relationship for less than a year, which Mr. Brown terminated when Ms. Kutcher told him she was pregnant. His response was that he did not want the responsibility of a child at that time. He already had two daughters and Ms. Kucher had three sons. There was no further direct contact between the parties until the application for child support was made in 2013. The Provincial Court order awarded retroactive child support to Ms. Kucher in the amount of $70,320, being the sum of child support that the trial judge calculated would have been payable between 1995 and 2013 under the Federal Child Support Guidelines, SOR/97-175 in respect of the parties’ child, “C.K.” C.K. was almost 19 years old at the time of trial. Fisher J. set aside the retroactive child support order and ordered retroactive child support to no more than three years prior to October 23, 2013 (the date of both formal and effective notice) in accordance with the Federal Child Support Guidelines; prospective support at $479 per month was ordered and the payment of education expenses. Costs were awarded to the respondent. The Court of Appeal dismissed the child support appeal from the decision of Fisher J. The Court of Appeal dismissed the application for a stay of the costs awards.

Lower Court Rulings

February 18, 2015
Provincial Court of British Columbia

19503
Retroactive child support payable forthwith as a lump sum ordered; ongoing child support ordered
July 21, 2015
Supreme Court of British Columbia

15-1189, 2016 BCSC 1258
Retroactive child support order set aside; an order retroactive to no more than three years prior to October 23, 2013 (the date of both formal and effective notice) ordered in accordance with the Federal Child Support Guidelines; prospective support at $479 per month ordered and payment of education expenses
February 10, 2016
Supreme Court of British Columbia

2016 BCSC 194
Costs awarded to respondent
June 15, 2016
Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Victoria)

CA43006, 2016 BCCA 267
Appeal from July 21, 2015 decision dismissed
September 1, 2016
Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Victoria)

CA43006, 2016 BCCA 354
Costs awarded to respondent
November 14, 2016
Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Victoria)

CA043006, 2016 BCCA 456
Application for a stay of costs awards dismissed
 

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