Case Summaries

Financial remedies appeal against dismissal of the wife’s application for nominal spousal maintenance

Judgment as to whether a child was habitually resident in England and Wales on a date on which he was made a ward of court. Held, applying Re A (Jurisdiction Return of Child) [2013] UKSC 60, that he was so habitually resident.

Application for further maintenance pending suit by the wife. Application granted and the husband ordered to pay the wife £170,000 before the end of April 2014.

Appeal from a decision within proceedings under the Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985 refusing permission for an expert to be instructed to assess the mother’s mental health and its impact on her ability to care for the child if a summary return was to be ordered.

Judgment in Hague Convention proceedings brought by father who contended that he had not consented to the children’s relocation from the USA to England. Declining to exercise inherent jurisdiction to order the return of the children, the court made residence orders in respect of both children in favour of the mother.

Two appeals to the Supreme Court concerning the criteria for judging whether the living arrangements made for a mentally incapacitated person amount to a deprivation of liberty. Both appeals allowed.

Appeal by wife in divorce and financial proceedings against finding of habitual residence and determination of jurisdiction in England and Wales pursuant to Article 3(1)(a) of Brussels IIR and a refusal to refer the matter to Court of Justice of the European Union for preliminary ruling and a refusal to stay proceedings. Appeal dismissed.

Application by wife for declarations that two properties were wholly or mainly beneficially owned by the husband notwithstanding that legal title to the properties was held in the names of the husband’s family members. Applications dismissed.

High Court application for care order – threshold met by virtue of child being victim of trafficking– additional support for trafficked child

Application by father to restrain a local authority from disclosing to the police transcripts of two earlier judgments in long-running care proceedings concerning two children. Application refused.

Cross appeals in relation to award of financial provision under Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 in a case where the Father lived in France. Mother’s appeal dismissed but Father’s cross appeal allowed to a limited extent.

Appeal concerning jurisdiction to prevent a party to a marriage pursuing fresh financial remedies applications in another jurisdiction where a final order had already been made in this jurisdiction

Judgment in private law children proceedings where the applicant mother, who had alleged rape by the respondent father, was legally aided and the respondent was not.

Appeal from order setting aside an award of financial relief on the basis of material non-disclosure and listing a re-hearing of the wife’s claims. Consideration by the Court of Appeal of the extent of the jurisdiction of the Court of first instance to set aside financial orders and the relevance of the principles in Ladd v Marshall [1954] 1 WLR 1489 to such applications.

High Court application under the Children Act 1989 and the inherent jurisdiction, arising out of the need to regularise the status of parties following the making of an informal surrogacy arrangement.

Application under the Hague Child Abduction Convention to return a child to Denmark