Case Summaries

Appeal concerning extent of court’s duty in Hague Convention cases to direct a local authority to provide accommodation.

Care proceedings: Application by a local authority for permission to withdraw care proceedings pursuant to Family Proceedings Rules r.4.5. Permission granted.

Care proceedings: Father appealed findings of fact that he had sexually abused 3 children. He sought to question the strength of the evidence upon which the findings were based. Appeal dismissed.

Ancillary relief appeal by wife against an order at first instance that payment of share of net sale proceeds of former matrimonial home was void under Insolvency Act 1986, s284. Decision upheld, but on different grounds.

Court asked to indicate whether a s.30 Parental Order was likely to be granted in relation to twins born following a foreign commercial surrogacy agreement.

Adoption case considering whether a lesbian couple living separately were a couple within the meaning of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 and whether the adoption was justified by s.1 of the Act.

Application in ancillary relief proceedings for permission to appeal a case management decision of Mostyn J’s refusing to adjourn the final ancillary relief hearing to await the outcome of litigation that had begun in India. Mostyn J decided that the Indian litigation was an attempt to stymie the ancillary relief proceedings but that in any event that the ancillary relief proceedings should not be delayed.

Ancillary relief costs. Competing claims against the wife’s proceeds of ancillary relief proceedings- the wife’s solicitors’ Sears Tooth agreement and the Husband’s application to set-off orders for costs. The Judge gave effect to the ‘set off’ claimed by the Husband.

Leave given under s.28 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002, to remove a child who was subject to a placement order from the jurisdiction of the court and place her with relatives who lived in the USA, who, it was envisaged, would at a later stage apply to this court for a Convention adoption order in respect of that child.

TOLATA claim appeal. The significance of the parties having been engaged had not been taken into account. Furthermore, the first instance judgment had been unsatisfactory in a number of respects. Case to be remitted to the County Court for retrial on limited issues before a different judge with a stay execution of the order for sale.

Care Proceedings: Whether the conclusions of a psychological assessment ought to prevail despite the absence of history of any significant ill treatment or harm and indeed over positive empirical evidence that mother and father had been observed to be coping sufficiently. The judge was entitled to prefer the factual evidence. Appeal dismissed.

Assessment of age of claimant by reference to the Merton Guidelines.

Application for permission to appeal in ‘big money’ ancillary relief proceedings. Application dismissed.

Proceedings, concerning the alleged wrongful removal of children from Greece to England, under the Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985 and pursuant to Brussels II Revised and Hague Convention. Issue as to the jurisdiction of the court to make residence and contact orders. Held that the orders would be made under the court’s inherent jurisdiction.

Ancillary relief. Husband named beneficiary of discretionary trust funds. Extent to which those were “financial resources” available to him. Wife sought award of £6.5m; husband proposed award of £3m. Wife awarded £4.5m, and substantial contribution to costs.

TOLATA proceedings. Held that one property was not held in trust for the claimant but the claimant should receive some benefit by way of proprietary estoppel by virtue of contributions to renovations. The jointly owned investment property was (post severance of the joint tenancy) held as tenants in common subject to a trust that the claimant was responsible for all outgoings but entitled to income from it during his lifetime.