The father sentenced to pay $30,000 to his ex-spouse, for having contributed to destroying the relationship between her and their child, is appealing this judgment.
He filed a motion to obtain permission from the Court of Appeal to appeal the decision handed down at the end of April by Judge Élise Poisson of the Superior Court.
In her judgment, the magistrate wrote in particular that the father “created a conflict of loyalty leading to the breaking of the ties between Madame and the child”.
She writes that she notes the presence of several facts demonstrating the existence of parental alienation caused by Mr. She then noted various examples, including these: one day, the mother sends her son “to think in his room”; he calls his father, who dispatches the police to check if the safety of the child is “compromised”. In addition, the judge notes that Monsieur shares his own frustrations about his ex-spouse with his son. He feeds his resentment towards her, and tells her that her mother prevents them from going on vacation while he refuses to pay his share of the passport, is it written in the judgment.
According to several lawyers consulted, this judgment would be a rare case, if not a first: they had never before seen a case where a sum of money was awarded to compensate for parental alienation.
Some were concerned in particular that it could open the way to all sorts of claims for the commission of “parental fault”.
In its motion for leave to appeal, obtained by The dutyMr. thus indicates that the questions raised by his case are “of interest for Quebec law” and for justice.
If the appeal is allowed, one of the questions will be the following: “In civil law, is there a remedy allowing the parent of a child to claim damages from the other parent for an injury suffered due to a fault in the exercise of his role as a parent? »
If so, it is written, this opens the door to a whole host of other questions: what is the standard of conduct to which parents are held when there is an intra-family conflict, and how to assess the responsibility of each in the event of deterioration of the bond between the child and one of his parents? Without forgetting this one: how to assess the damage suffered, or, in other words, what amount of money can compensate for the loss of the relationship with your child?
The father argues that there is no recourse in Quebec law between parents based on the exercise of their parental rights. It would certainly not be in the best interests of children to allow such claims, he adds.
Finally, he denies having committed a fault: his educational method is certainly different from that of the mother, but the judge did not have to “make a value judgment” and decide that his was at fault.
In her decision, Judge Poisson herself acknowledges that the mother adopted, on certain occasions, “a rigid behavior and used questionable disciplinary measures”. In doing so, “she contributed to the distancing of the child”, she underlines in her decision.
How can she then decide that he is the cause of the rupture of the mother-son bond? asks the father in his request.
This will be argued in the Court of Appeal next September. If he obtains this permission, the father will then ask the Court to set aside the order to pay $30,000.