A B.C. couple going through a thorny custody dispute for the past decade are now facing a new family law trial because the judge failed to provide reasons for his 2018 decision.
Forget about the squabbling parents, think of the emotional damage to the now-adolescent boy who was a toddler when provincial court proceedings began in 2009.
In the case anonymized with initials as O.R. v M.G. to protect the child, M, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Frits Verhoeven said with “great reluctance” he could find no other solution.
“With respect, the trial judge did not provide sufficient reasons for judgment, and the record itself does not allow for meaningful appellate review of the decision,” Verhoeven wrote. “The reasons contain no statement of issues, no reference to legal principles applicable, no review of the evidence and no express reference to factual findings.”
