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- The father sought a child arrangements order while the mother opposed any direct contact. The mother alleged that she was the victim of the father's domestic violence and abuse. The case had engaged special measures, with a screen being used for the mother and the father being required to provide Willans J with his questions for her in advance, though Willans J expressed "grave reservations as to the resulting quality of evidence received". The allegations of rape and abduction were not found to be proven, while both mother and father were found to have sent inappropriate communications of a harassing nature to each other. Though the mother was found to have demonstrated implacable hostility, Willans J was not persuaded that the effects of this amounted to parental alienation. Consideration would now have to be given to whether contact could be re-established. The case needed to progress, and a Children's Guardian would be appointed prior to fixing a directions appointment. Judgment, 25/05/2020, free
- The father sought permission to appeal out of time against a district judge's finding of fact that he had abused his daughter. Francis J decided that the findings were so unsafe and their consequences so series that they could not be allowed to stand, despite the exceptional delay in appealing. He noted with surprise the district judge's assertion that the mother's counsel could conduct the cross-examination of the expert witness on behalf of the litigant-in-person father as well as the mother, a suggestion which Francis J said was "incorrect and plainly wrong". The expert had not been cross-examined on his misunderstanding of a previous judgment in the case, and in failing to depart from the expert's view the district judge fell into further error. The procedure adopted was irregular enough to cause injustice within the meaning of FPR Part 30. Permission to appeal out of time was granted, the appeal was allowed and the finding of fact set aside. The matter would be remitted for re-hearing by a High Court judge of the Family Division. Judgment, 19/05/2020, free
- The father applied for a summary inward return order in respect of a boy, one of three children, who was taken by the mother to both parents' native country of Sierra Leone and left there with her family. The mother cross-applied for an order permitting her retrospectively to relocate the boy. Mostyn J was also asked to make child arrangements orders regulating contact between the father and all three children. The father had not seen any of the children for three years. The mother alleged domestic abuse, and that the son had been involved in South London gang culture. The Cafcass officer recorded that the boy's emphatic wish was to remain in Sierra Leone until his education to GCSE level was complete. Mostyn J stated that the wishes of a Gillick-competent child on a particular issue, where they are not objectively foolish or unreasonable, should normally be given effect, and he was not satisfied that the child's wishes in this case were objectively foolish or unreasonable. The father's application for summary return was dismissed and the mother's application was granted. There would be supervised contact with the children, virtual at first, given the coronavirus, with the sessions recorded and the mother at liberty to stop them if the children became distressed. Mostyn J also commented on various procedural aspects of the case. Judgment, 18/05/2020, free
- The husband and wife were the children of extremely wealthy Indian families. Following the breakdown of the marriage the husband had discovered that he was not the biological father of their child and issued proceedings for the tort of deceit against the mother. Cohen J noted that he knew of no other case where the breakdown of a marriage had engendered litigation on the scale witnessed in this case. In this hearing he had to deal with issues including the assessment of the assets, in terms of value, origin and ownership and whether they were subject to a family arrangement or clawback, minority discounts, the movement of resources, tax, pre-acquired wealth, and other assets for which there was inadequate information. In Cohen J's judgment the wife's conduct was so egregious that it would be inequitable to disregard it, but to reflect emotional damage in financial terms would be like comparing apples and pears. Cohen J had also found that the husband's disclosure had been seriously deficient: to reduce the wife's award by giving her a lower percentage of the disclosed assets would be to inflict a double jeopardy. Cohen's J's conclusion was that the matrimonial assets to which the husband could have immediate recourse in terms of ownership were £117m. The wife's assets were calculated at less than £1m. The matrimonial home would be transferred free of charge to the wife. The wife's needs, including the value of the matrimonial home, were found to total £41,046,388. Judgment, 01/05/2020, free
- The father had applied for a child arrangements order that the children live with him, and a prohibited steps order preventing the mother from removing the children from the jurisdiction. It had previously been found as a fact that that the father had raped the mother, had physically assaulted her in front of the children, and had caused direct harm to one of the children. An expert witness concluded that there was no reasonable prospect of the father engaging successfully in therapy so that the risks he presented could be ameliorated. The guardian's view was that risks remained to the children, given the father's history of manipulative behaviours, and so even indirect contact was not recommended. The father claimed that this was a case of parental alienation, where the mother had sought to paint a false picture of him to the children and to the court. HHJ Vincent found there was no evidence of this. All of the mother's allegations had been found to be true. HHJ Vincent was not satisfied that the physical and emotional safety of the children and their mother could be secured before, during and after contact. They remained at risk of further domestic abuse by the father, even if contact were to be supervised. The father's applications were refused. Judgment, 28/04/2020, free
- The mother brought the children from South Africa to London for a three-week period of contact with the father. During that time the father applied to the High Court for her to be prevented from taking the children back, despite his having signed a letter that assented to her doing so. Mostyn J found that the father had acted in bad faith, and had been guilty of blatant forum and process shopping. The children both wished to return to South Africa, and in Mostyn J's judgment their physical, emotional and educational needs were best served by doing so. Any further disputes concerning the arrangements for their upbringing should be adjudicated in the South African courts. The father's application was dismissed and the mother would be at liberty to return with the children to South Africa, once the Covid-19 crisis allowed it. Judgment, 16/04/2020, free
- An appeal brought by the court itself, alleging contempt. The matter arose out of proceedings relating to the respondent's son. The mother had refused him contact with the child, and then raised allegations of coercive control and domestic violence. At the hearing the father made comments that were considered threatening. Moor J found that there was contempt in the face of the court. It was clear that he was threatening to pursue access to the child outside the court process and irrespective of court orders. However, the sentence was suspended for one year and reduced to two months in prison. Judgment, 07/04/2020, free
- The purpose of this latest report is to look at the key themes that were highlighted during the consultation & describe how the Group’s thoughts have developed as a result during the past 6 months. News, 03/04/2020, free
- In the midst of the Coronavirus outbreak (‘Covid-19’), there has been little guidance as to whether Local Authorities have the ability to suspend contact between a child in their care and parties who have a right to contact with that child, either by parental responsibility or by a Court order. News, 03/04/2020, free
- The five-year-old daughter had always lived with her mother, but had been the subject of legal proceedings between her parents for most of her life. All other avenues to engage and promote a good and loving relationship with the father having failed, he was now seeking an order that he should be the child's primary carer and that she should live with him. This application was supported by the child's Guardian. After hearing evidence regarding the consequences of the child being denied a relationship with the father, the mother ceased to actively oppose the father's application. Agreed findings were made that the daughter's relationship with the father had not been consistently promoted by the mother, that the mother was not in a position to promote a positive relationship between the daughter and the father, and that the mother had alienated the daughter from her father. HHJ Raeside (sitting as a judge of the High Court) made further findings including that the father would be better able to promote a relationship between the daughter and the mother. The child's welfare was best met by a transfer of care to her father, as well as an immediate change of school. Judgment, 17/03/2020, free