Delay tactics an indication of family court misuse

From this week’s article on Advocate Daily, by our own Timothy N. Sullivan:

Persistent family law litigants who bring applications or motions to vary without pursuing them by consistently delaying proceedings are abusing the justice system and responding parties – and they typically don’t face any consequences, says Ottawa family lawyer Timothy N. Sullivan.

“There should be a rule of court to address parties who initiate proceedings but are unwilling or unable to resolve the dispute, even though it’s in court,” he tells AdvocateDaily.com. It’s a problem when the responding party does not have the resources to force the matter to a termination.

“As it is now, a party with greater financial resources can start an application or a motion to vary, and they may be complying with all the rules, but the result is that the case can be prolonged for four or five years. Specifically, parties who move for variation with no intention of resolving the case and just keep moving it from case conference to case conference are a problem. I think it’s one of the hallmarks of this misuse of court resources, in fact.”

To read more, check out the full story on Advocate Daily.