Executive Summary: Key Legal and Evidentiary Issues

• Respondent sought to vary or set aside the April 24, 2024 consent order (filed May 16, 2024) alleging material non-disclosure of corporate and international assets by the claimant during mediation and settlement drafting

• Extensive financial disclosure was demanded including corporate records for Asturia Aquaculture Inc., international property holdings in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and government funding applications

• Income imputation of $72,800–$99,840 per annum was requested pending full and complete disclosure from the claimant

• Court found insufficient evidence that the requested corporate financial documents exist, as the company had no taxable income and the last financial statements were produced for the 2014/2015 tax year

• Claimant's international property interests were found to be non-existent, with evidence showing his father's estate was directed to his oldest brother, Dusan Djuric

• Respondent herself failed to fulfill disclosure of financial obligations under the Family Law Act by withholding relevant information about her current income

Background and relationship of the parties

Zeljko Djuric and Lori Christine Evans were in a common-law relationship from December 20, 2012 to May 2023. The couple has one child together and they share parenting of that child on a week-on week-off basis. Ms. Evans works at Vancouver Island University where she is a university professor teaching nursing. Her regular annual income from 2020–2022 was approximately $100,000 a year. Her income reduced while she was on disability benefits totaling approximately $70,000 per year.

Mr. Djuric worked throughout the relationship as a stonemason and in a self-employed capacity in the industry of crayfish farming through a company called Asturia Aquaculture Inc. He was born in Yugoslavia which is now Bosnia. He received a bachelor's degree in 1985. After graduating from university, he started his own business in aquaculture selling crayfish to local merchants in Dubrovnik, Croatia. He had a partner in the aquaculture business and continued to operate with a partner until 1991 when the war began in Yugoslavia. He landed in St. John's, Newfoundland in 1996 thinking he would start his crayfish business there. That is where he met Dr. Stephen Goddart who was an expert in crustaceans. He recommended that Mr. Djuric take his skills to the West Coast of Canada. He set up a crayfish aquaculture farm north of Duncan, British Columbia in 1997.

The consent order and subsequent dispute

On May 16, 2024, the parties entered into a final consent order settling issues including parenting and property division. An order was made with respect to spousal support and child support. In the settlement agreement, the parties agreed to impute income of $32,000 based on minimum wage for Mr. Djuric.

Now, over a year later, the respondent says that the April 24, 2024 final agreement was based on incomplete financial disclosure from the claimant. On November 6, 2025, Ms. Evans filed a notice of application seeking extensive financial disclosure. She alleged that Mr. Djuric did not provide full personal or corporate financial documents, nor did he disclose his international property interests despite those assets forming part of his financial holdings.

Corporate business activities and alleged assets

The respondent submits that Mr. Djuric continues to operate his corporations while representing himself publicly as CEO of Asturia Aquaculture Inc. The court noted that in an email dated June 27, 2025, Mr. Djuric's partner Odd Grydeland holds himself out as president of Asturia Aquaculture Inc. The respondent alleged that Asturia Aquaculture Inc. was worth $1 million and that the claimant had three licenses worth $3 million.

Mr. Djuric has produced proof that other proprietorships, namely, Asturia Aquaculture Crayfish Consulting and Asturia Masonry, were dissolved January 1, 2024.

On April 18, 2023, Mr. Djuric and Asturia Aquaculture Inc. submitted an expression of interest for the BC Fast Pilot Program for $200,000 in funding with letters of support from Canadian aquaculture experts and agencies demonstrating active and ongoing corporate activities. Mr. Djuric does not deny this. The funding was received and was used in an attempt to develop the aquaculture business but for reasons described by his partner the business has failed.

In 2013 Mr. Djuric met his partner Odd Grydeland and incorporated a company called Asturia Aquaculture Inc. in September 2014. Mr. Djuric owns 70% of the shares and Mr. Grydeland owns 30% of the shares. The company was incorporated to generate crayfish production. They entered into a partnership agreement between Malahat First Nation and Malahat Investment Corporation. Mr. Grydeland assisted in applying for funding through the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and they were able to obtain three separate sets of funding estimated at approximately $220,600. These monies were utilized for equipment to set up the facility and to pay administrative costs to Malahat Investment Corporation.

Mr. Grydeland deposes in his 2024 affidavit that the allegations about the company's value are not true and that he and Mr. Djuric were simply out of luck as far as the Bamberton project with the Malahat First Nation was concerned. Mr. Djuric and Mr. Grydeland planned on harvesting crayfish from the lake on the top of the Malahat where Mr. Djuric has successfully harvested crayfish before. Unfortunately, they discovered small mouth bass have been put in the lake and they apparently ate all the crayfish.

In November 2021 Malahat Investment Corporation advised that they wanted $3,500 a month rent from Asturia Aquaculture Inc. to use the Malahat land. They could not afford to make these payments and had trouble with people coming onto the facility and causing harm to their water supply. Mr. Grydeland deposes that there is now no ability to draw any income from the facility as the Malahat First Nation and Malahat Investment Corp. have control over the land where the facilities are located. Mr. Grydeland deposes that Asturia Aquaculture Inc. is not worth anything now other than the value of the pick-up truck he bought for the company and that Mr. Djuric is now driving.

On June 27, 2025, Mr. Grydeland responded to a request from Mr. Djuric's counsel for further financial disclosure. In that email he said due to minimal financial activity and having no taxable income or resources the last financial statement (drafts) for Asturia Aquaculture Inc. were produced for the 2014/2015 tax year. He notified CRA of the reasons for not submitting T2 returns on December 13, 2019. Nil remittances have been submitted as required.

International property interests

The respondent submits that Mr. Djuric has not disclosed his international property interests and alleges he holds undisclosed property interests in Bosnia and Herzegovina and possibly additional family holdings in Zabica. Mr. Djuric deposes he has no international property interests. His father died intestate in November 2000 and his sister has power of attorney over his father's affairs. Prior to his death his father made his sister and him promise that on his death his oldest son Dusan Djuric would receive his house. His sister has been working with the civil authorities in Trebinje to achieve this. In short, Mr. Djuric has no interest in his father's home and no other form of property.

Financial disclosure history

Mr. Djuric filed Form F8 financial statements on November 27, 2025; July 15, 2025; January 12, 2024; and July 20, 2023 attaching his personal income tax returns for 2022, 2023 and 2024. In his January 12, 2024 financial statement he attached income tax return summaries for 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 all showing very modest personal income under minimum wage income level. He also attached a record of employment from Living Stone Interlocking Brick Inc. showing his employment earnings for 2023 totaling $21,835.34.

Mr. Djuric deposes that there are no corporate financial documents because the company had not filed corporate financial statements because the company made no income for a number of years. He did have a job doing stone mason work for a landscaping company and was injured at work and has been receiving WCB wage loss benefits since May of 2023. His only source of income is WCB payments.

The court's analysis and ruling

After reading the correspondence between the respondent and claimant's counsel, the court noted a distinct impression that this application for further disclosure is fuelled by Mr. Djuric's request for confirmation of the respondent's income now that she has returned to full-time work at VIU. Her increase in income will result in an increase in the spousal support payable by her to the claimant. She has resisted disclosure of her income after repeated requests. On the day this application was heard she filed a financial statement which did not attach any paystubs showing what her current income is.

The court found it was not satisfied on the evidence before it that the financial disclosure demanded by the claimant exists. The court observed that Mr. Djuric and Mr. Grydeland have not given up on Asturia Aquaculture Inc. and still hold themselves out to be CEO and president of that company, assuming they are intending to pursue future ventures if possible. If Asturia Aquaculture Inc. does generate income, Mr. Djuric will have to disclose this income.

The court dismissed the application at paragraphs 1 and 2 of the respondent's November 6, 2025 notice of application as it did not find a material non-disclosure of corporate and international assets by the claimant. For the same reason, the court dismissed the application at paragraph 4 seeking to set aside the April 24, 2024 consent order which was filed May 16, 2024. The court dismissed the application at paragraph 5 for disclosure of all government or industry project funding grants or benefits as this has been disclosed. The ongoing financial disclosure request at paragraph 6 was dismissed as unnecessary since this term is already contained in paragraph 26 of the consent order of April 24, 2024. The court declined to impute $72,800–$99,840 per annum to Mr. Djuric as disclosure has been provided and there is no credible evidence that this high an income should be imputed at this time. The court dismissed the order sought at paragraph 8, finding the demand far too broad and vague to respond to, and that the claimant is not entitled to historic business ledgers and invoices and reconciliations which have nothing to do with the claimant's current income. The court dismissed the order sought at paragraph 9, finding that the respondent has not fulfilled disclosure of financial obligations under the Family Law Act and has withheld relevant information about what her current income is. Paragraph 10 was dismissed as nonsensical.

The court ordered the respondent to produce pay stubs for the last three months showing her year-to-date income within seven days of the release of the order. The court ordered Mr. Djuric to provide proof of his efforts to find employment in the past three months. Costs were awarded against the respondent for bringing this unnecessary application, fixed at $2,500 payable forthwith.