SCC to Release Decision in Colucci v. Colucci Tomorrow
TORONTO, June 3, 2021 /CNW/ - The Supreme Court of Canada will release its decision in Colucci v. Colucci on Friday, June 4th, 2021, at 9:45am.
TORONTO, June 3, 2021 /CNW/ - The Supreme Court of Canada will release its decision in Colucci v. Colucci on Friday, June 4th, 2021, at 9:45am. Click here to view the decision.
Colucci v. Colucci addresses the basic and fundamental right of all children in this country to receive child support. Mr. Colucci brought this proceeding to seek relief from the more than $170,000 of arrears of child support that had accumulated while he was no where to be found for almost 20 years. When Mr. Colucci resurfaced, he moved quickly to be relieved of his obligation to pay those arrears on the basis that his income had changed and he was unable to pay. Without any regard for the hardships experienced by Ms. Colucci and/or the children due to the lack of support, the Superior Court of Justice granted Mr. Colucci's request and reduced his arrears to approximately $40,000. Ms. Colucci successfully appealed. In addition to reinstating the full amount of the arrears, the Court of Appeal for Ontario took the opportunity to admonish child support payors who avoid and/or evade the financial obligations owed to their children.
In its earlier decision of Michel v. Graydon, which was released in September 2020 (after the Court of Appeal decision in Colucci v. Colucci), SCC signaled a profound cultural shift in how claims for retroactive and arrears of child support should be handled by our courts; it is anticipated that the decision in Colucci v. Colucci will expand upon that theme to specifically address the epidemic of unpaid and/or underpaid child support in Canada. Ms. Colucci, a single mother of two (2) children, persevered all the way up to the Supreme Court of Canada in her quest to secure basic child support for her children and, in fact, all children in Canada who do not receive the child support to which they are entitled. Goldhart & Associates represented Ms. Colucci and will be available for comments and/or interviews upon release of the decision.
SOURCE Goldhart & Associates
