Harras v. Lhotka et al., 2015 BCCA 329

• Judge: Saunders, J.A.
• Court: Court of Appeal (British Columbia)
• Case Date: July 02, 2015
• Jurisdiction: British Columbia
• Citations: 2015 BCCA 329;(2015), 375 B.C.A.C. 15 (CA)

Harras v. Lhotka (2015), 375 B.C.A.C. 15 (CA);

    644 W.A.C. 15

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2015] B.C.A.C. TBEd. JL.050

Patricia Ann Harras (respondent/claimant) v. Peter Ivan Lhotka (appellant/respondent) and Intrepid Films Inc. and Intrepid Entertainment Inc. (respondents)

(CA042328; 2015 BCCA 329)

Indexed As: Harras v. Lhotka et al.

British Columbia Court of Appeal

Saunders, J.A.

July 3, 2015.

Summary:

The parties had entered into a separation agreement. An order of divorce had been granted, but claims in relation to the children had been adjourned generally. The father applied for a review of child support pursuant to the terms of the separation agreement. He sought to appeal the order that was made, and applied for an extension of time. The mother argued that the order was a "limited appeal order" that granted interim relief under the Family Law Act (Court of Appeal Rules, rule 2.1) and that leave to appeal was therefore required (Court of Appeal Act, s. 7). The father argued that the order was made under the Divorce Act and was a final order.

The British Columbia Court of Appeal, per Saunders, J.A., held that leave to appeal was not required. The review application was made in the Divorce Act proceeding. On that basis, leave to appeal was not required. Even if the order had been made under the Family Law Act, it was not an order for interim relief: "the mere ability to review the amount of child support in the future does not make the order interim." In the end result, the Court granted the extension of time sought.

Family Law - Topic 2229

Maintenance of spouses and children - Interim relief - Appeals - See paragraphs 11 to 16.

Family Law - Topic 2423

Maintenance of spouses and children - Appeals - Leave to appeal - See paragraphs 11 to 16.

Family Law - Topic 3353

Separation agreements, domestic contracts and marriage contracts - Effect of agreement - In divorce actions - Corollary relief - See paragraphs 11 to 16.

Family Law - Topic 4164

Divorce - Practice - Appeals - Leave to appeal - See paragraphs 11 to 16.

Practice - Topic 5729

Judgments and orders - Final judgments and orders - What constitute - See paragraphs 11 to 16.

Practice - Topic 8871.2

Appeals - Leave to appeal - Whether required - See paragraphs 11 to 16.

Practice - Topic 8876

Appeals - Leave to appeal - Grounds for granting leave - See paragraphs 11 to 16.

Cases Noticed:

Jacobs v. Jacobs (2015), 371 B.C.A.C. 101; 636 W.A.C. 101; 2015 BCCA 173, refd to. [para. 15].

Statutes Noticed:

Court of Appeal Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 77, sect. 7 [para. 11].

Court of Appeal Rules (B.C.) - see Rules of Court (B.C.), Court of Appeal Rules.

Rules of Court (B.C.), Court of Appeal Rules, Reg. 297/2001, rule 2.1 [para. 11].

Counsel:

M.A. Slay, for the appellant;

M.J. Cochrane, for the respondent.

This application was heard at Vancouver, British Columbia, on July 2, 2015, by Saunders, J.A., in Chambers, of the British Columbia Court of Appeal, who delivered the following oral reasons for judgment, dated July 3, 2015.