Husband’s pleadings struck for failure to provide full financial disclosure in recent Ontario Superior Court of Justice case

Manchanda v. Thethi

2016 CarswellOnt 8951

Ontario Superior Court of Justice

Civil practice and procedure --- Pleadings — Application to strike — General principles

Wife maintained that husband continued to breach multiple court orders in proceeding, in particular, he refused to deposit rent into joint account and he refused to disclose documents — On consent, wife was ordered to provide disclosure of use of $377,000 that had been taken from account, which she had not done — Wife brought motion to strike out husband's pleadings; husband brought motion to strike out wife's pleadings — Wife's motion granted; husband's motion dismissed — Husband failed to deposit rent money he received into joint account as ordered — Husband had been in persistent breach of court orders, breaches were knowingly made and were deliberate — Husband failed to produce basic documents such as his income tax returns, financial statements, bank account statements, credit card statements and investment account statements — Husband had not disclosed his income, assets, liabilities or expenses — Husband's non-disclosure was exceptional and drastic and was sufficiently egregious to conclude that he did not intend to help promote just outcome — No order that would be made would result in husband making required disclosure, and only available remedy was striking out husband's pleadings — Wife failed to disclose particulars of use of $377,000, but failure to disclose post-valuation date depletion of assets did not affect equalization calculation per se — Quantum of wife's post-separation assets and failure to disclose full extent of her investments might adversely impact any support she claimed — Unlike husband, wife had made basic disclosure to allow fundamental calculations to be made — While disclosure was incomplete, wife had not evinced intention not to participate in fair and just proceedings.