Law Times

Page 4 February 1, 2016 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com NEWS It's time to rank… THE TOP 10 LITIGATION AND CORPORATE COMMERCIAL BOUTIQUES Complete the survey online at canadianlawyermag.com/surveys and make your picks. SURVEY IS OPEN UNTIL MARCH 1 st Untitled-3 1 2016-01-25 12:41 PM Family lawyer ordered to come up with child support BY MICHAEL MCKIERNAN For Law Times A Toronto family lawyer who racked up more than $34,000 in child support arrears faces the prospect of jail time after a judge found he "gave no indica- tion" that he intended to live up to his obligations voluntarily. Dean Adema, who runs a sole practice focused on family, civil, and criminal law, claimed he was unable to pay the combined ar- rears owed to the two mothers of his three children, blaming a $50,000 tax bill, minimal as- sets, and a low income. However, Ontario Court Justice Stanley Sherr ruled against him in a Jan. 21 judgment in Ontario (Family Responsibility Office) v. Adema, 2016, saying the lawyer had shown "disdain" for the court process since default proceed- ings were launched against him in March last year. "The payor did not provide a valid justification for his poor payment history. He presented no plan to pay the arrears. He gave no indication that he would voluntarily make any payments in these cases. He presented as aggrieved that his support ob- ligations are being enforced," Sherr said in his oral decision. "The message needs to be sent to the payor that child support orders for his children matter and will be enforced. The default orders shall provide for an im- mediate committal of the payor for 75 days in both cases or until a portion of the arrears ($3,500 in each case) is paid." However, the judge granted Adema a reprieve, suspending the sentence for eight days to al- low him time to wind down his law practice or find the $7,000 cash he needs to avoid jail. In a short interview with Law Times, Adema said he expected to raise enough money to avoid jail, ahead of his Jan. 29 hear- ing, which occurred after Law Times went to press. "I'm disappointed with the re- sult, of course, and still consider- ing my legal options; whether or not to appeal," says Adema, who adds that he was upset a request for an out-of-town judge to hear the matter was rejected, consid- ering his frequent appearances as counsel in family court in the Toronto region. Even if Adema meets his Jan. 29 deadline, Sherr's decision contemplates further jail time in the event he misses any further scheduled payments to cover his arrears. The judge laid out a timetable for payments of $2,500 to each mother every six months until the arrears are paid off, with 75 days in jail the penalty for any defaults. In his decision, Sherr excori- ated Adema for failing to com- ply completely, or only partially complying, with various court orders concerning financial dis- closure and motions to change support. In addition, Adema never filed affidavit evidence in response to the default proceed- ings, according to Sherr. Despite expressing doubts about Adema's credibility as a witness, Sherr found that he "has likely been earning between $30,000 and $40,000" per year since 2013 based on his self- reported revenues. According to the decision, in the nine months since he was served with the no- tice of default hearing, Adema had missed an opportunity to show good faith by paying some support, preferring "his interests ahead of those of his children." "The payor knows or should know the potential consequenc- es of his behaviour. It is disap- pointing that a family law lawyer has acted in such a manner. The court has limited sympathy for the payor's predicament. It is re- served for his children who have gone without adequate support and the mothers of those chil- dren who have assumed the pay- or's support obligations," Sherr said. "It has become clear that less aggressive enforcement op- tions other than imprisonment have failed. The suspension of the payor's driver's licence and passport did not result in sup- port compliance. These default proceedings have had little im- pact on his payments. The payor was given multiple opportuni- ties to comply with the support and disclosure orders." One of the two child support cases heard together concerned Adema's 22-year-old child with Emma Camposano. Accord- ing to Sherr's decision, Adema agreed to pay $400 per month in support to the child in 2001. However, no voluntary payments were made between 2008, when the agreement was filed in court, and 2011, when the child ceased to be entitled to support, leaving Adema $15,000 in arrears. In his oral evidence, Adema said he was surprised that the FRO's director considered enforcement "an im- portant thing" when the child was not in any need and well taken care of by the mother, according to Sherr's decision. The second case involved two children Adema had with Demetra Adema who are still eligible for support. A 2007 or- der by an Ottawa superior court judge committed the lawyer to support payments of $800 per month. The mother moved for enforcement in November 2013, since when no voluntary pay- ments had been made, leaving Adema more than $19,000 be- hind on payments, according to Sherr. The judge wrote that Ade- ma told the court he was finan- cially unable to go to Ottawa to move for a change to his support order, and claimed the mother and her current partner earned enough to take care of the chil- dren's needs. In Adema's case, his experi- ence in family law likely con- tributed to Justice Sherr's loss of patience, according to Greater Toronto Area family lawyer An- drew Feldstein. "It's clear the judge feels this is someone who should be aware of the court process and its impor- tance," he says. "Incarceration is extraordi- narily rare, but when you see how many opportunities there were to get to court or try and make a deal, the final resolution comes as little surprise." LT It's clear the judge feels this is someone who should be aware of the court process and its importance. Andrew Feldstein Check out lawtimesnews.com for insight from our regular online columnists Monica Goyal discusses the latest gadgets and trends in legal technology in Bits & Bytes From trade deals to foreign investment, Patrick Gervais keeps you up to date on business issues in Trade Matters Darcy Merkur brings a plaintiff-side perspective on insurance matters in Personal Injury Law Promote your law firm by ordering reprints of articles from the voice of the profession — Law Times! Reprints are great for: Been in Law Times Want a record of it • Firm promotional material • Use on your web site • Training and education • Suitable for framing $200–$250/reprint We provide a colour PDF and unlimited reproduction rights. For more information or to order reprints, please e-mail Gail Cohen at: gail.cohen@thomsonreuters.com

• Cover