LEGAL REPORT/family law
An 'expansive' interpretation
of family violence
B.C. ruling equates party's 'intransigent and obstructive' litigation conduct
with 'family violence' under new law.
U
nco-operative behaviour by parents fighting
legal battles isn't unusual,
but a "remarkable" ruling has determined it
can amount to "family violence." British
Columbia's Family Law Act, which came
fully into effect in March 2013, defined
"family violence" for the first time under
provincial law, to cover a range of psychologically, emotionally, and physically damaging actions. The definition of
"family violence" is "the one area where
B.C. is ahead of any other province in
terms of its legislation," asserts John-Paul
Boyd, family lawyer at Aaron Gordon
Daykin Nordlinger LLP.
Its definition was interpreted broadly
in M.W.B v. A.R.B, which said a 12-yearold boy's principal residence should
be with his father, due to his mother's
www.CANADIAN
L a w ye r m a g . c o m
august
2013
47
Ashley Mackenzie
By charlotte santry
