Overview
This decision pertains to a motion brought by the Applicant for financial disclosure.
Facts
The parties began cohabitating in the summer of 2010, married on July 7, 2012, and separated on September 15, 2020.
There are only two issues before the court in this case:
- Equalization, and
- Spousal support.
The decision at hand pertains to the issue of equalization, which the court found requires a valuation of the Respondent’s interest in the law firm in which he is a partner. The Applicant is seeking an Order requiring the production of same. Her position in support of this motion is that, because of his partnership interest in the firm, pursuant to the Partnerships Act, the Respondent has full access to the documents being requested and as such, he should be able to disclosure same for the purposes of equalization.
Analysis
The Respondent advised the court that between April 1, 2022, and July 11, 2022, he took steps to retain a business valuator to produce the requested disclosure. The law firm’s managing partner wrote to the Respondent’s solicitor on July 23, 2022, advising that an issue had arisen in respect of the request for the disclosure (an issue which was not identified/clarified by the Respondent), and some of the partners were not agreeable to the release of the requested information. It is because of this issue and the disagreement of these partners at the firm that the Respondent claims he was unable to produce the requested disclosure.
The court noted that the Respondent’s inability to produce this disclosure has been an ongoing issue and ultimately, they did not agree with the Respondent’s position. The court stated that unless some special provisions exist, either in an explicit or implied partnership agreement, or within the Partnerships Act itself, the Respondent can obtain and disclose any information to which he is entitled. As a partner at the firm, he has the same level of control over the information pertaining to the firm as every other partner has.
Conclusion
The court made an Order for the Respondent to produce the disclosure requested by the Applicant within 30 days.