Ramsay & Wade

In *Ramsay & Wade*, heard by Judge Scarlett, the applicant father alleged that the respondent mother had contravened interim parenting orders on eight separate occasions. The court was required to determine whether a prima facie case of contravention had been established by the father and, if so, whether the mother had a reasonable excuse for any contraventions.

The court found that the father had established a prima facie case of contravention. In reaching this conclusion, the court considered the evidence presented by the father regarding the alleged breaches of the parenting orders. The court also noted that procedural fairness was a consideration, particularly as one party was not legally represented, and that the onus was on the respondent to establish a reasonable excuse for any contravention.

The court made specific findings that the respondent mother had contravened the interim parenting orders on each of the eight occasions alleged by the applicant father, by refusing to allow him to spend time with the children X and Y as stipulated by the orders. The court then granted the respondent mother leave to file an affidavit within twenty-one days, setting out any facts upon which she relied to contend she had a reasonable excuse for these contraventions.