Charles and Hughes

In the matter of *Charles and Hughes*, heard before Stevenson J, the dispute concerned the payment of professional fees and disbursements incurred by a single expert witness and the costs of the Independent Children’s Lawyer. The proceedings involved the mother and the father as parties, with the court tasked with determining the appropriate allocation of these expenses.

The primary legal issues before the court were: first, how the professional fees and disbursements of the single expert witness should be apportioned between the mother and the father; and second, whether the father should be ordered to pay one half of the costs incurred by the Independent Children’s Lawyer.

Stevenson J reasoned that the responsibility for the single expert's fees should be shared equally between the parents, ordering each to pay one half of the total amount. This approach reflects a general principle of equal responsibility for expert evidence obtained in family law proceedings. However, the application by the Independent Children’s Lawyer for the father to pay one half of their costs was dismissed, indicating that the court did not find sufficient grounds to depart from the usual cost orders in this instance.

Consequently, the court ordered that each parent was to pay an amount equal to one half of the single expert’s professional fees and disbursements. The application by the Independent Children’s Lawyer for the father to pay one half of their costs was dismissed.