Are there consequences with respect to disobeying a court order?
In Ontario, family courts have and do sanction the behavior of a spouse if he/she has not complied with a court order.
In McAllister v. McAllister, Justice Campbell of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice reversed an earlier ruling that granted the wife permission to relocate with her son and live with her new boyfriend. Despite being awarded access rights to his child, the father was blocked and deprived from seeing his son, as the mother had relocated and made every attempt to sever the relationship between her child and his father.
In his ruling, Justice Campbell, scolded the mother for disobeying the lower court’s ruling, which explicitly expected that the father of the child would have the opportunity to visit and continue building the relationship with his son. Justice Campbell ruled that he was of the opinion that the mother was “gatekeeping” and alienating her former husband from performing his right of access to his child. Consequently, Justice Campbell reversed the lower court’s ruling, forcing the mother to opt for one of two choices:
- Maintain custody of the child, but return home to ensure that the father’s access rights are upheld; or,
- Do not return home, lose custody of the child, and pay child support.
The critical point to take away from Justice Campbell’s ruling is that one must always abide and facilitate the orders of a Judge, otherwise one will face severe consequences as was evident in McAllister.
To learn more about court orders as well as the services provided by Krol & Krol, call 905.707.3370 today.
