Can a court order special costs to punish a party for misconduct in the proceedings or to compensate the other party for misbehaviour?
British Columbia, Canada
The following excerpt is from M.P. v. N.M., 2009 BCSC 40 (CanLII):
Special costs can be ordered, at the discretion of the court, to punish a party for misconduct in the proceedings or to compensate a party for misbehaviour of the other party. The conduct does not have to be “reprehensible” or “outrageous”. The conduct must be “deserving of reproof or rebuke”: Smith v. Smith, 2000 BCSC 297.
In family matters, the failure to disclose important financial information and deliberately misleading the court is “deserving of the rebuke of special costs”: Rozen v. Rozen, 2002 BCCA 537, 173 B.C.A.C. 102.
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