Imineo v. Price, 2011 ONCJ 594

Milton Registry No. 412/08 DATE: 2011·X·28 CITATION: Imineo v. Price , 2011 ONCJ 594 ONTARIO COURT OF JUSTICE BETWEEN: FRANCESCO IMINEO, Applicant, — AND — SANDRA PERSAUD PRICE and DAVID PRICE, Respondents. Before Justice R.

Zisman Endorsement inscribed on 28 October 2011 Applicant natural father, Francesco Imineo .......................................................... on his own behalf Respondent natural mother, Sandra Persaud Price .............................................. on her own behalf For previous proceedings, see: • dismissal of natural father’s motion for interim access since critical issue of whether child should be told of her parentage was matter for trial judge: Imineo v. Price and Price , 2010 ONCJ 473 , 193 A.C.W.S. (3d) 1201, [2010] O.J. No. 4501, 2010 Cars​- well​Ont 8025 (Ont.

C.J.), per Justice Theo Wolder; and • court’s directions for revealing to child truth about her parentage; access regime to re-establish ties between father and daughter: Imineo v. Price and Price (No. 2) , 2011 ONCJ 584 , [2011] O.J. No. 5277 (Ont. C.J.), per Justice Roselyn Zisman. [ 1 ] JUSTICE R. ZISMAN ( endorsement ):— On 21 September 2011, I released my judgment in this case. I found that it was in the child’s best interests to be told about her parentage by her mother and Mr. Price who she believes is her biological father. This finding was against the wishes of Mr. and Ms. Price.

In paragraph [163] of the judgment, I permitted the Prices’ 30 days to reconsider their position and to advise Mr. Imineo and the court whether they were now prepared to tell the child about her parentage and arrange for counselling and to work out the logistics of arranging for a family therapist. If not, I provided that Mr.

Imineo would then be responsible for arranging for a counsellor to assist him in advising the child about her parentage. [ 2 ] The matter was returnable before me today for either an order on consent or, after hearing submissions from the parties about the specifics of which therapist is to be retained, how costs are to be paid, the dates and times of appointments and the mechanics of how the child is to be transported to the counselling appointments and supervised access and the locations and times of specified access thereafter. [ 3 ] I am advised today that Mr. and Ms. Price have already had meetings with Dr.

Cheryl Ackerman, who was one of the therapists recommended by Dr. Raymond Morris in his assessment. Sara has also met with Dr. Ackerman and, with her assistance, has been told the truth about her parentage. [ 4 ] I am advised that Sara is devastated by the news and has said that she does not want to see Mr. Imineo. However, the Prices have advised her generally about the process for supervised access and have advised that they are committed to following through with the court order.

In view of the fact that they have now told Sara about her parentage, they wish the court order to include various recommendations made by Dr. Morris to permit some flexibility in the process. As Mr. Imineo previously agreed to Dr. Morris’ recommendations, I am prepared to make an addendum to my order. [ 5 ] Mr. Imineo has not yet contacted Dr. Ackerman but will do so immediately so he can arrange a meeting with her to obtain assistance in understanding how Sara is feeling and how his first meeting with her should proceed.

[ 6 ] The parties believe that they will be able, either through direct communication or with the assistance of a mediator, to make arrangements for appointments with Dr. Ackerman. At the present time, the parties do not see the need for a parent co-ordinator, although, depending on the cost, the role of Dr. Ackerman and future issues, they may consider retaining someone to act in this capacity. [ 7 ] Mr. and Ms. Price have also filed a motion for leave to bring an application for child support and the sharing of Sara’s extraordinary expenses. They did not pursue child support in the trial for tactical reasons.

Mr. Imineo states that he has always been prepared to pay child support. The parties expect that the issue of child support will be resolved once the necessary financial information is exchanged. [ 8 ] There will therefore be a further order, on consent, as follows: 1. All parties and Sara will attend with Dr. Cheryl Ackerman to act as a family therapist. The parties will be responsible for their own costs for each attendance either on their own or with Sara.

The cost of Sara’s individual attendance shall be deemed to be an extraordinary expense and the proportionate sharing of this expense will be determined in the context of the pending child support application. 2. Dr. Ackerman will work with Sara and Mr. and Ms. Price to assist them to understand and deal with the reality of her parentage. Dr. Ackerman will determine Sara’s readiness, in conjunction with a parent co-ordinator, if retained by the parties, to introduce Mr. Imineo back into her life and to prepare Sara and Mr. Imineo for a progressive access arrangement.

If the parties agree, such access can deviate from the access order made on 21 September 2011. 3. If agreed upon and deemed necessary by all parties, the parties shall retain a parent co-ordinator for a period of 2 years who will monitor the progress of the therapeutic interventions and access arrangements via contact with all of the parties, Sara and the family therapist. The parent co-ordinator shall facilitate any agreed upon or court- ordered access either through mediation or arbitration or both.

If the parties agree, the parent co-ordinator shall have the ability to increase or decrease or delay the planned progressive access based specifically on Sara’s adjustment and accommodation to it. 4. There should be flexibility in the court-ordered access when there are exceptional circumstances in accordance with the parenting guidelines set out in Dr. Morris’ recommendations and in the court-ordered access and particularly in considerations of Sara’s needs or wishes. 5. Leave is granted to Mr. and Ms. Price to initiate an application for child support. Any such application should be returnable before myself.