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2019 Judgments

• Re A (Children) (Parental alienation) [2019] EWFC
  Judgments (18/12/2019)
  
• Neil v Neil [2019] EWHC 3330 (Fam)
  Judgments (15/12/2019)
  Judgment by Mr Justice Moor on an application to set aside part of a final order made in 2015 on grounds of fraud, and for determination and payment of the amount of the proceeds of sale of the former matrimonial home due to the Applicant Husband by the Respondent Wife.
• Mander & Anor v Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead & Anor [2019] EWFC B64
  Judgments (12/12/2019)
  Successful application for damages for direct discrimination in an adoption process under the Equality Act 2010
• Akhmedova v. Akhmedov [2019] EWHC 3140 (Fam)
  Judgments (08/12/2019)
  Judgment by Mrs. Justice Knowles in the long-running litigation between Mrs. Akhmedova and Mr. Akhmedov dealing with an application by Mrs. Akhmedova for directions pursuant to UL v. BK (Freezing Orders : Safeguards) [2014] Fam 35 in respect of Imerman documents provided to her by the former director of Mr. Akhmedov’s family office. The judgement offers suggestions for dealing with Imerman documents where the owner of the documents is not represented and/or is failing to engage in the proceedings.
• R v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Disclosure of Asylum Documents) [2019] EWHC 3147 (Fam)
  Judgments (06/12/2019)
  
• K, T and U (Placement of Children with Kinship Carers Abroad) [2019] EWFC 59
  Judgments (06/12/2019)
  After a dispiriting sequence of events, the net result of which is that after 21 months of care proceedings the welfare outcome for three children remains uncertain, Recorder Samuels, sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge, records and considers the difficult issues that had arisen surrounding placement with family members abroad. The judgment draws together research, guidance and case-law to provide invaluable assistance in respect of the challenges inherent in making safe and lawful kinship placements abroad.
• LA v XYZ (Restriction on Father's Role in Proceedings) [2019] EWHC 2166 (Fam)
  Judgments (30/11/2019)
  Four applications by a Local Authority regarding a child whose father had killed her mother. The applications sought were a care order for the child, permission to refuse contact between the child and her father pursuant to Section 34 (4), relief of duties under Section 22 CA 1989 to the father regarding the child and to discharge the father as a party to the care order and the Section 34 (4) applications.
• C (A Child) (Interim Separation), Re [2019] EWCA Civ 1998
  Judgments (30/11/2019)
  Successful appeal against interim removal in care proceedings; Court of Appeal concluded the decision to separate was not a necessary and proportionate response to the situation that had arisen.
• W (A Child), Re [2019] EWCA Civ 1966
  Judgments (30/11/2019)
  An appeal by a great-aunt against care and placement orders made in May 2019 concerning a two year old boy. Appeal allowed.
• A Local Authority v M & F & Ors [2019] EWHC 1447 (Fam)
  Judgments (28/11/2019)
  Judgment of Mr. Justice Hayden following a 3-week-long fact-finding hearing to determine the cause of death of a 10-year old child. The case was re-heard following the judgment of the Court of Appeal [2018] EWCA Civ 1718 in which King LJ concluded that the judge at the first fact-finding hearing had fell into error by resorting to the burden of proof prematurely.
• Re B (Secure Accommodation Order) [2019] EWCA Civ 2025
  Judgments (28/11/2019)
  Appeal by Local Authority against the refusal of its application for a secure accommodation order: Court of Appeal recasting the interpretation of the section 25 criteria.
• F v M (Appeal) [2019] EWHC 3177 (Fam)
  Judgments (28/11/2019)
  A father unsuccessfully appealed a determination of fact made in private law children proceedings that he had perpetrated a rape upon the mother.
• FRB v DCA No.2 [2019] EWHC 2816 (Fam)
  Judgments (22/11/2019)
  Case summary coming soon
• A (No. 2) (Children: Findings of Fact) [2019] EWCA Civ 1947
  Judgments (21/11/2019)
  The Court of Appeal orders an unprecedented 2nd retrial to be heard by the President of the Family Division.
• Re Q (Publication of Judgments) 2019 EWFC 70
  Judgments (21/11/2019)
  Application by a mother convicted of harming her child in criminal proceedings to have the judgement published of a fact finding in the family court which found the child’s father guilty of the same injury.
• Re Q (Fact-Finding Rehearing) 2019 EWFC 60
  Judgments (21/11/2019)
  Care proceedings in which a finding was made that the father inflicted head injuries to a child, and the mother was subsequently convicted for inflicting the injuries in a criminal trial. On review, Baker LJ adhered to his original findings.
• P (Transgender Applicant for Declaration of Valid Marriage) [2019] EWHC 3105 (Fam)
  Judgments (21/11/2019)
  In this case Cobb J heard an application for a declaration (pursuant to FLA 1986 s55(1)(a)) that a marriage conducted on 14.02.2009 between AP and JP is a valid marriage.
• In the matter of various applications concerning foreign representative powers: [2019] EWCOP 52
  Judgments (17/11/2019)
  This judgment relates to five separate related applications before the Court, except that each asked the Court to make orders to give effect in England and Wales to representative powers originating in a foreign jurisdiction.
• Re I-L (Children) (1996 Hague Child Protection Convention:Inherent Jurisdiction) [2019] EWCA Civ 1956
  Judgments (15/11/2019)
  A Court of Appeal judgment by Moylan LJ setting aside a High Court decision made under the inherent jurisdiction, which had ordered the return to Russia of two children.
• Raqeeb v Barts Health NHS Trust (Litigation Friend) [2019] EWHC 2976 (Admin)
  Judgments (14/11/2019)
  This judgment concerns a case management decision regarding a litigation friend.
• Re TY Adoption (Jamaica) [2019] EWHC 2979 (Fam)
  Judgments (14/11/2019)
  Cobb J allows an application for intercountry adoption to proceed notwithstanding the applicant’s non-compliance with certain of the requirements of the pre-adoption provisions of ACA 2002 and AFER 2005.
• Potanin v Potanina [2019] EWHC 2956 (Fam)
  Judgments (12/11/2019)
  Concerning divorce proceedings by the wife of a Russian oligarch.
• PQ v RS and others (Legal Parenthood: Written consent) [2019] EWFC 65
  Judgments (09/11/2019)
  The court was concerned with cross applications for a declaration. PQ applied for a declaration of parentage, RS applied for a declaration of non-parentage under s 55A Family Law Act 1986.
• Re S (A Child: Adequacy of Reasoning) [2019] EWCA Civ 1845
  Judgments (08/11/2019)
  The Court of Appeal set aside a fact-finding judgment in care proceedings on the grounds that it was insufficiently reasoned; there were “too many actual or arguable deficiencies in the structure and content of the judgment for it to be upheld”. A re-hearing was ordered.
• Akhmedova v Akhmedov & Others [2019] EWHC 2561 (Fam) and [2019] EWHC 2732 (Fam)
  Judgments (03/11/2019)
  Two further hearings in long-running ancillary relief proceedings.
• FRB v DCA [2019] EWHC 2816 (Fam)
  Judgments (30/10/2019)
  Cohen J struck out the husband’s claim for damages in respect of W’s deceit over the paternity of C.
• University Hospitals Bristol NHS Trust v RR [2019] EWCOP 46
  Judgments (30/10/2019)
  Cobb J gives reasons for approving an end of life care plan of palliative care for a 20 year old man with severe aplastic anaemia, following an unsuccessful bone marrow transplant.
• In the matter of NY (A Child) [2019] UKSC 49
  Judgments (30/10/2019)
  
• Redcar Cleveland v PR (Costs) [2019] EWHC 2800 (Fam)
  Judgments (29/10/2019)
  Mr Justice Cobb found that the Senior Courts Act 1981 determines the allocation of costs for an application under the inherent jurisdiction concerning a vulnerable adult.
• AA & 25 Ors (Children) [2019] EWFC 64
  Judgments (29/10/2019)
  This judgment concerns the welfare and living arrangements for 25 children.
• Ali v Barbosa [2019] EWHC 2776 (Fam)
  Judgments (27/10/2019)
  Application by a husband for Decrees Absolute and Nisi, and all related orders be set aside due to issues with service.
• Maughan v Wilmot [2019] EWHC 2765 (Fam)
  Judgments (27/10/2019)
  General civil restraint order, costs orders, and injunctions under the Protection from Harassment Act 1977 (which included protection for the applicant’s solicitor and barrister) granted in one of the worst cases of vexatious litigation misconduct Mostyn J had ever encountered.
• An NHS Foundation Trust v AB (Contraception) [2019] EWCOP 45
  Judgments (24/10/2019)
  It was in the interests of AB to be fitted with an intrauterine contraceptive device when she underwent a caesarean section with a spinal anaesthetic.
• Cumbria County Council v R [2019] EWHC 2782 (Fam)
  Judgments (24/10/2019)
  MacDonald J’s judgment in a final hearing of care proceedings, in which he rejected a request by the mother to revisit earlier findings of non-accidental injury on the basis of a subsequent admission by the father. The judge further favoured an ICO, rather than a final care order or SGO, as the appropriate means to test a placement with the child’s grandparents.
• Re G (Children) 2019 EWCA Civ 1779
  Judgments (24/10/2019)
  An appeal by a local authority against an order made by Her Honour Judge Cronin, on 29 July of this year by which she discharged a care order in respect of six children. Human Rights Act considerations.
• Read v. Panzone & Anor [2019] EWCA Civ 1662
  Judgments (20/10/2019)
  A court should be wary of making findings/orders on alternate bases ‘just in case’, as this can over-complicate matters which should be kept simple. In this instance, the court’s making of an order setting aside a disposition under s37 MCA 1973, when no application had been made and no submissions on that basis heard, and when in any event the husband had been found to hold the beneficial interest in the relevant property. The court therefore allowed the appeal on two grounds but this did not cause any alteration of the final order made in financial remedy proceedings, and did not require the setting aside of that order in its totality as sought by the appellant and the husband.
• CP, R (On the Application Of) v North East Lincolnshire Council [2019] EWCA Civ 1614
  Judgments (20/10/2019)
  The Court of Appeal allowed an appeal in judicial review proceedings concerning the provision of and payment for services under Care Act 2014 and Children and Families Act 2014. It also considered the circumstances when a family member can be a litigation friend.
• Re H (Parental Alienation) [2019] EWHC 2723 (Fam)
  Judgments (18/10/2019)
  Keehan J orders a change of residence as the only realistic option to meet the child’s welfare best interests in a case of parental alienation. Reliance upon the expert evidence of Dr Braier; inadequacies in the reports of the SW and NYAS caseworker.
• O (Children) [2019] EWCA Civ 1721
  Judgments (17/10/2019)
  The case concerned an appeal against a committal of the appellant mother who had failed to comply with orders to return the parties’ children to Mexico.
• P, Re [2019] EWCOP 42
  Judgments (14/10/2019)
  Application to execute a statutory will of an individual while not serving that person's son.
• Re B (Appeal) [2019] EWHC 2613 (Fam)
  Judgments (10/10/2019)
  Appeal by a father against the dismissal of an application for a prohibited steps order where the mother had sought permission to temporarily remove the child to Iraq.
• LCC v AB [2019] EWCOP 43
  Judgments (10/10/2019)
  Application by Lincolnshire County Council to determine whether a 51-year-old-man had capacity with regards to his contact with sex workers.
• Raqeeb v Barts NHS Foundation Trust [2019] EWHC 2531 (Admin) and [2019] EWHC 2530 (Fam)
  Judgments (08/10/2019)
  Mr Justice MacDonald held that the continuation of life-sustaining medical treatment was in the best interests of Tafida Raqeeb, a 5 year old girl who had been left with extensive and irreversible damage to her brain as a result of a non-traumatic brain injury. The decision was described by the Judge as a “grave, multifaceted and complex one”.
• A County Council v Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) [2019] EWHC 2369 (Fam)
  Judgments (06/10/2019)
  Case concerning the scope of Cafcass’ statutory function; held that the court has no power to appoint Cafcass to work with and advise upon a non-subject, non-party child.
• London Borough of Croydon v KR & Anor [2019] EWHC 2498 (Fam)
  Judgments (04/10/2019)
  The case concerned an application by a Local Authority (LA) for an injunction under the Court’s inherent jurisdiction to prevent KR from living together with his wife ST. It was accepted that KR had capacity to make decisions about where to live and who he lived with and he therefore did not fall within the scope of the Mental Capacity Act 2005
• A (Children), Re (Rev 1) [2019] EWHC 2334 (Fam)
  Judgments (04/10/2019)
  A re-hearing of findings of fact following a successful appeal of an earlier fact-finding hearing
• Re A (A Child: Female Genital Mutilation: Asylum [2019] EWHC 2475
  Judgments (03/10/2019)
  Can the Family Court in FGM proceedings injunct the Secretary of State in the exercise of the asylum jurisdiction?
• Various Lasting Powers of Attorney, Re [2019] EWCOP 40
  Judgments (30/09/2019)
  Application by the Public Guardian pursuant to section 23 & para 11(3)(a) of Schedule 1 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 [‘MCA’] for determination of the meaning and effect of certain instruments that the Public Guardian [PG] had been asked to register as Lasting Powers of Attorney [LPA’s].
• In the matter of D (A Child) [2019] UKSC 42
  Judgments (30/09/2019)
  Appeal to The Supreme Court as to whether it is within the scope of parental responsibility to consent to arrangements for a teenage child which would amount to a deprivation of liberty.
• JB (Capacity: Consent To Sexual Relations And Contact With Others) [2019] EWCOP 39
  Judgments (30/09/2019)
  Court of Protection judgment considering the test for capacity to consent to sexual relations: whether the need for P to understand the voluntary nature of sexual activities should extend to an understanding of full consent from sexual partners.
• S-L (Children : Adjournment) [2019] EWCA Civ 1571
  Judgments (28/09/2019)
  Peter Jackson LJ here delivers the single judgment of the Court of Appeal, in which the local authority’s appeal against the decision of a Recorder to adjourn care proceedings at the conclusion of a contested final hearing, for the purposes of further assessment was upheld.
• In the matter of TT and YY [2019] EWHC 2384 (Fam)
  Judgments (26/09/2019)
  An extensive case regarding the wish of a man, who was born a woman, to be recognised as the father on the birth certificate of the child he has given birth to since receiving a Gender Recognition certificate confirming his gender as male.
• E (Through Her Children's Guardian) & Anor v A Mother & Anor [2019] EWCA Civ 1557
  Judgments (23/09/2019)
  An appeal by a local authority and children's guardian against an order made by a circuit judge refusing an application for a placement order in respect of a 10 month old child who had been in foster care under an interim care order since birth.
• R-B (A Child) [2019] EWCA Civ 1560
  Judgments (22/09/2019)
  Successful appeal against care and placement orders made at an IRH as the judge made inappropriate comments which caused the mother to change her position and because the judge failed to give a proper, fully-reasoned judgment.
• In the matter of Nasrullah Mursalin [2019] EWCA Civ 1559
  Judgments (22/09/2019)
  Successful appeal against a committal order imposed upon a paralegal after an unauthorised disclosure of documents from the Family Court to the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal.
• Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council v PR & Ors [2019] EWHC 2305 (Fam)
  Judgments (11/09/2019)
  Cobb J concluded proceedings and determined whether it had been right to use the inherent jurisdiction to make interim injunctive-type orders in respect to a capacitous but apparently vulnerable adult.
• Wakefield Metropolitan District Council & Anor v DN & Anor [2019] EWHC 2306 (Fam)
  Judgments (11/09/2019)
  Cobb J provides a comprehensive summary of the law relating to the use of inherent jurisdiction in order to authorise a deprivation of liberty. On the facts of the case, the learned judge rejected the applications to authorise both the deprivation of DN’s liberty and his care regime in supported living under a Mental Health Treatment Requirement of a Community Order.
• X Health Authority v D [2019] EWHC 2311 (Fam)
  Judgments (06/09/2019)
  The matter came before Mr Justice Hayden and concerned an application by a Health Authority to place ‘D’, a 12 year old girl, in a special unit which would better address her medical and mental needs.
• Moher v Moher [2019] EWCA Civ 1482
  Judgments (01/09/2019)
  Appeal by a husband to the Court of Appeal against the decision made at the final hearing in a financial remedies case.
• Re E (Children: Reopening Findings of Fact) [2019] EWCA Civ 1447
  Judgments (24/08/2019)
  Court of Appeal judgment setting out the procedure by which findings of fact may be challenged on the basis of further evidence. It will generally be more appropriate for the significance of the further evidence to be considered by the trial court rather than by way of appeal.
• Medway Council v Root [2019] EWHC 669 (Fam) and Root v Medway Council [2019] EWHC 1640 (Fam)
  Judgments (18/08/2019)
  Application for committal relating to breaches of orders prohibiting R publishing material in relation to her children. Consideration of the legal framework and the publication of hyperlinks. Subsequent successful application to purge the contempt.
• ZH v HS & Ors (Application to Revoke Adoption Order) [2019] EWHC 2190 (Fam)
  Judgments (18/08/2019)
  Case in which the court took the highly unusual and exceptional step of exercising its inherent jurisdiction and revoking an adoption order which had been made following a flawed process, replete with errors and omissions.
• R v P (No. 2) [2019] EWHC 2175 (Fam)
  Judgments (16/08/2019)
  Judgment regarding two appeals: a mother’s application to change a child’s surname to her new husband’s surname and the father’s application (under article 21 of the Hague Convention) for contact with the child.
• Power v Vidal [2019] EWHC 2101 (Fam)
  Judgments (09/08/2019)
  The matter came before Mr Justice Mostyn for a declaration in respect of a Decree Absolute which had been obtained by the parties in 1997.
• M (Children) [2019] EWCA Civ 1364
  Judgments (09/08/2019)
  The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal against an order for disclosure of the parents’ statements and position statements, filed in the early stages of care proceedings, to the police. The leading authority, Re C (A Minor) (Care Proceedings: Disclosure) [1997] Fam 76 (also reported as Re EC [Disclosure of Materials] [1996] 2 FLR 725) remains fit for purpose and was correctly applied.
• Joy v Joy [2019] EWHC 2152 (Fam)
  Judgments (08/08/2019)
  The question in this case was whether the wife’s capital claims should be adjourned again or dismissed. There had been proceedings in 2015 in which the capital claims had been adjourned. The court held in 2019 that, despite the passage of time and the need for finality, dismissing the wife’s claim against the background of this case was a matter of last resort. The wife’s capital claims were therefore further adjourned but were to be dismissed unless an application to restore them is made by 31 July 2022.
• Z and Y (Leave to Withdraw Application for a Parental Order) [2019] EWFC 43
  Judgments (04/08/2019)
  In this short judgment Mrs Justice Theis granted permission for the applicants to withdraw their application for a parental order under section 54 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (HFEA 2008). The children’s guardian recommended that the court did not make the parental order initially sought by the applicants due to the absence of certain information required under s.54 HFEA. It was not possible to obtain this information from the applicants as they had stopped engaging with the court proceedings.
• Timokhina v Timokhin [2019] EWCA Civ 1284
  Judgments (04/08/2019)
  An appeal by Anna Timokhina, the mother, in relation to an order that she pay £109,394 in respect of the costs of Alexander Timokhin, the father, incurred during the course of litigation concerning the future arrangements for the care of their children. Considerations in relation to costs principles.
• W v L (Forum Conveniens) [2019] EWHC 1995 (Fam)
  Judgments (31/07/2019)
  The court determined a child (M) to be habitually resident in England and Wales and that the English court had jurisdiction regarding matters pertaining to parental responsibility
• London Borough of Barking & Dagenham v A (Therapeutic Residential Placement) [2019] EWHC 2017 (Fam)
  Judgments (31/07/2019)
  Care proceedings involving a mother with a learning disability, in which MacDonald J comments on the importance of continuity of placement and professionals to vulnerable children in the care system.
• London Borough of Tower Hamlets v NB (consent to sex) [2019] EWCOP 27
  Judgments (28/07/2019)
  Court of Protection case regarding the capacity of a wife to consent to sexual relations with her husband of 27 years.
• Akhmedova v Akhmedov & Ors (Injunctive Relief) [2019] EWHC 1705 (Fam)
  Judgments (28/07/2019)
  An application for injuctive relief relating to a Liechtenstein establishment.
• AF v SF [2019] EWHC 1224 (Fam)
  Judgments (27/07/2019)
  Judgment of Mr Justice Moor following financial remedy proceedings in which almost all of the assets were held in Trust funds of which the husband was a beneficiary. The Husband lacked capacity to conduct litigation and was consequently represented by the Official Solicitor. The Court considered the appropriate inferences which could be drawn against the husband as a result of his lack of full and frank disclosure.
• Birmingham City Council v SR; Lancashire County Council [2019] EWCOP 28
  Judgments (25/07/2019)
  Applications for authorisation of care plans, inter alia, for deprivation of liberty [‘DoL’] of restricted patients under ‘Hospital Orders’– applications allowed – Schedule 1A of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 [‘MCA’], the Mental Health Act 1983 [‘MHA’] and M v Secretary of State for Justice (2018) 3 WLR 1784 considered.
• H v W [2019] EWHC 1897 (Fam)
  Judgments (24/07/2019)
  A judgment considering the extent to which an arbitrator can amend an award under section 57 of the Arbitration Act 1996 and how such an amendment can be challenged by the parties to the arbitration.
• Re X (FGMPO No. 2) [2019 EWHC 1990 (Fam)
  Judgments (24/07/2019)
  Application brought under section 5A and Schedule 2 of the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 for a Female Genital Mutilation Protection Order relating to a two year old girl.
• Re AB (Termination of Pregnancy), [2019] EWCA Civ 1215
  Judgments (22/07/2019)
  A successful appeal from the Court of Protection against a declaration to terminate the (almost 23-week) pregnancy of AB, a woman with moderate learning disabilities. The judge gave inadequate weight to non-medical factors and the medical evidence did not convincingly demonstrate the need for such a profound and drastic intervention.
• O'Dwyer v O'Dwyer [2019] EWHC 1838 (Fam)
  Judgments (21/07/2019)
  Appeal in financial remedy proceedings allowed by Francis J in respect of a periodical payments order made erroneously on the basis of sharing an income stream, contrary to Waggott v Waggott [2018] 2 FLR 406.
• Re F (A Child) (Fact-Finding Appeal) [2019] EWCA Civ 1244
  Judgments (19/07/2019)
  An appeal against findings that the father had inflicted petechial haemorrhages to his 6 month old child. Appeal allowed. Moylan LJ made general observations as to treating clinicians becoming involved as experts in care proceedings.
• Worcestershire County Council v AA [2019] EWHC 1855 (Fam)
  Judgments (17/07/2019)
  Case concerning the inappropriate use of s.20 Children Act 1989 in circumstances where a thirteen year old boy had spent eight years living in local authority foster care under a s.20 agreement.
• AB v CD & C [2019] EWHC 1695 (Fam)
  Judgments (17/07/2019)
  Case concerning at what stage a child should be informed that the man he believed to be his father was not his genetic father, and whether the identity of his biological father should be disclosed by the mother.
• PQ & Anor v RS & Ors [2019] EWHC 1643 (Ch)
  Judgments (14/07/2019)
  Application by trustees of a discretionary settlement created in 1968 seeking the Court’s confirmation and approval that they have the power to execute a Deed of Appointment to include a child born out of wedlock (who otherwise may not be a beneficiary due to common law rules of construction) as a beneficiary of the trust. Application granted.
• United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust v CD [2019] EWCOP 24 (Francis J)
  Judgments (14/07/2019)
  Concerning the medical treatment of CD, a 27-year-old woman that is 35 weeks preganant, currently detained pursuant to section 3 of the Mental Health Act 1983.
• X v Y [2019] EWHC 1713 (Fam)
  Judgments (14/07/2019)
  This case concerns an application by a husband / father ‘X’ for permission to appeal orders made by HHJ Tolson QC at the conclusion of financial remedy proceedings and proceedings under the Children Act 1989. Theis J refused permission to appeal in respect of all of the grounds raised in the financial remedy proceedings. Permission to appeal was granted on “a narrow but important point” in respect of the form that arrangements for the child ‘C’ to spend time with her father ‘X’ should be set out in the order: in the body of the order or as a recital.
• Northamptonshire County Council v AB & CD [2019] EWHC 1807 (Fam)
  Judgments (11/07/2019)
  First instance decision of Mr Justice Keehan in care proceedings concerning a child whose brother had been murdered by his father. Care and placement orders made.
• W-P (Children) [2019] EWCA Civ 1120
  Judgments (07/07/2019)
  This case concerns an appeal by the mother against special guardianship orders that were made in respect of her two sons, L (10) and A (9) in favour of their paternal grandparents.
• University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust v B (Urgent Medical Treatment) [2019] EWHC 1670 (Fam)
  Judgments (04/07/2019)
  Urgent application by the treating Trust to permit treatment in respect a 16-year old girl, B, refusing treatment i.e. insulin, with the result her life was threatened by diabetic ketoacidosis [‘DKA’]. Application allowed.
• Gray v Hurley [2019] EWHC 1636 (QB)
  Judgments (30/06/2019)
  Judgment in Queen's Bench Division providing international family lawyers with a meticulous overview on establishing forum. A claim issued first elsewhere in the world, may not of itself be determinative. World-wide assets were brought under the overarching jurisdiction of the High Court. The sophisticated construct of trust claims engaged specific Articles.
• MB v EB [2019] EWHC 1649 (Fam)
  Judgments (26/06/2019)
  It is a truism, Cohen J says, that marriages come in all different shapes and sizes. The size and shape of a relationship are both key to the quantum of a financial remedy, but it is PG Woodhouse-esque drama is what brings this wonderfully readable judgment to life.
• B v A Local Authority [2019] EWCA Civ 913
  Judgments (23/06/2019)
  An appeal and cross appeal following the judgment of Cobb J in the Court of Protection, in which he made declarations regarding the mental capacity of the subject, B, to make decisions to use social media, consent to sexual relations and to decide where she resides. Decision: The OS’s appeal was dismissed and the Local Authority’s appeal was allowed on the basis that there was a direct conflict between the decision made as to B’s capacity in some respects and lack of capacity to make decisions in others.
• Re NY (A Child) [2019] EWCA Civ 1065
  Judgments (20/06/2019)
  A mother’s unsuccessful appeal against an order for the summary return of a child to Israel
• London Borough of Wandsworth v Lennard (Application for Committal) [2019] EWHC 1552 (Fam)
  Judgments (20/06/2019)
  Application for committal for contempt. MacDonald J held that there was no breach of the protective injunction; a narrow interpretation of ‘towards’ was favoured. Useful summary of the strict procedural requirements for committal applications.
• Salford CC v M (Deprivation of Liberty in Scotland) [2019] EWHC 1510 (Fam)
  Judgments (19/06/2019)
  The case concerned a child, M who was aged 13, and whether she was deprived of her liberty in her current placement in Scotland, and how this was to be lawfully approved.
• NG v GA (Jurisdiction Art 10 BIIa) [2019] EWHC 1412 (Fam)
  Judgments (12/06/2019)
  An application by mother for return of a ten year old boy, with special educational needs, to this jurisdiction from Ghana. MacDonald J found that the father had wrongfully retained the child and ordered the father to return him. Child made a ward.
• A City Council v LS & Ors (Secure Accommodation Inherent Jurisdiction) [2019] EWHC 1384 (Fam)
  Judgments (09/06/2019)
  Application for a 17 year old at risk from gang violence to be placed into secure accommodation against his mother's wishes.
• Dorset Council v E (Article 15 BIIR) (Rev 1) [2019] EWFC 35
  Judgments (08/06/2019)
  A request by the Slovakian Central Authority (SCA) to transfer proceedings to the Slovakian courts pursuant to Article 15 of Brussels II Revised Regulation (BIIR) was refused by His Honour Judge Dancey sitting as a section 9 judge, primarily on the basis of the children being settled in their foster placement in England, the need for a fact-finding and police investigation here, and the ability through Member State cooperation to undertake assessments of the wider family in Slovakia.
• TY v HY (Return Order) [2019] EWHC 1310 (Fam)
  Judgments (05/06/2019)
  Application for the return of a child to Israel under the Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985.
• A Clinical Commissioning Group v P (Withdrawal of CANH) [2019] EWCOP 18
  Judgments (04/06/2019)
  Where P’s views prior to incapacitation can be ascertained with sufficient certainty, they should generally prevail over the very strong presumption in favour of preserving life.
• J-S Children [2019] EWCA Civ 894
  Judgments (03/06/2019)
  A father’s (1) application for permission to appeal the continuation of interim care orders and (2) appeal concerning the power to order electronic tagging. Application and appeal dismissed. Guidance on ‘academic appeals’ and permission to appeal decisions.
• R (A Child) [2019] EWCA Civ 895
  Judgments (02/06/2019)
  Appeal against a finding that a grandmother was in the pool of possible perpetrators of an injury to a young child. Appeal allowed on the basis that the judge’s finding went further than the evidence allowed. Court of Appeal clarifies the test for permission to appeal.
• I (Children) [2019] EWCA Civ 898
  Judgments (02/06/2019)
  Appeal in care proceedings, allowed by consent. Reference made and guidance given in relation to ‘clarification’ of judgments and fresh evidence.
• Re N (children) [2019] EWCA Civ 903
  Judgments (31/05/2019)
  Appeal by a father against the dismissal of his application to vary a s.91(14) order.
• Purvis v Purvis [2019] EWFC 31
  Judgments (19/05/2019)
  Mostyn J’s judgment on an application under FPR 24.12 for a letter of request to be issued to the US authorities for examination, unusually, of the respondent to financial remedy proceedings.
• A Local Authority v A Mother & Ors [2019] EWCA Civ 799
  Judgments (19/05/2019)
  Appeal by a local authority against a finding in care proceedings regarding injuries suffered by a baby.
• TB v KB and LH (Capacity to Conduct Proceedings) [2019] EWCOP 14
  Judgments (15/05/2019)
  Court of Protection case on capacity to conduct proceedings
• MB v TB (Art 13 Alleged Risk of Oppressive Litigation) [2019] EWHC 1019 (Fam)
  Judgments (15/05/2019)
  In Hague Convention proceedings Mr Justice MacDonald ordered the summary return of a child to the State of Israel, rejecting the mother’s “grave harm” defence which relied on her assertions both as to the alienation of the child from her by the father and on what she described as his “relentless and oppressive” use of the legal system in Israel.
• Gloucester County Council v JD & Others [2019] EWHC 1101 (Fam)
  Judgments (15/05/2019)
  Judgment of Williams J in care proceedings relating to two children where a Child Arrangements (“live with”) Order was made in favour of the father and his partner who live in Portugal.
• Giusti v Ferragamo [2019] EWCA Civ 691
  Judgments (30/04/2019)
  This is an appeal against a decision of Francis J to stay the wife’s English divorce petition and dismiss her application for a single joint expert to be instructed to provide an opinion on Italian law.
• Lachaux v Lachaux [2019] EWCA Civ 738
  Judgments (11/05/2019)
  An appeal against the recognition of a divorce in Dubai and against the dismissal of child arrangements order.
• Re: T-S (Children) [2019] EWCA Civ 742
  Judgments (11/05/2019)
  An appeal concerning the approach of a court to a potential impasse with a local authority on an important element of the care plan. In the instant case, an impasse had not been reached. The appeal was allowed, though none of the local authority’s grounds were accepted.
• Pierburg v Pierburg [2019] EWFC 24 (11 April 2019)
  Judgments (08/05/2019)
  Unsuccessful application for a divorce petition to be heard in this jurisdiction
• Re H (Abduction:Retention in Non-Contracting State) [2019] EWCA Civ 672
  Judgments (27/04/2019)
  This was an appeal from a return order made in Hague Convention proceedings by Mostyn J.
• Vasilyeva v Shemyakin [2019] EWHC 932 (Fam) (16 April 2019)
  Judgments (29/04/2019)
  This case involved an application for leave under s.13 Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 to apply for the leave of the court to apply for financial relief in England and Wales. The test for the grant of leave is whether there is “substantial ground” for the making of an application.
• H-L (Children - Summary Dismissal of Care Proceedings) [2019] EWCA Civ 704
  Judgments (28/04/2019)
  This was a successful appeal by the Local Authority against the decision of HHJ Wicks dismissing care proceedings at an interim procedural stage, against opposition from the Local Authority and Children’s Guardian. The Court of Appeal determined that the Judge had erred in finding that threshold was not crossed and that he should not have summarily dismissed the proceedings [46].
• G-L-T (Children) [2019] EWCA Civ 717
  Judgments (28/04/2019)
  Lady Justice King grants an appeal against a finding made by HHJ Farquhar within care proceedings that a father had ‘failed to protect’ his son.
• RP (Appeal costs) [2019] EWCA Civ 680 (16 April 2019)
  Judgments (27/04/2019)
  An appellant attempted to recover litigation costs against the LA and Cafcass and failed.
• Thum v Thum [2019] EWFC 25
  Judgments (27/04/2019)
  Mostyn J refused an application by a husband to revoke a disclosure order made during financial remedy proceedings
• Guest v Guest & Guest [2019] EWHC 869 (Ch)
  Judgments (25/04/2019)
  A claim based on proprietary estoppel for a share in a family business where a son worked for 30 years at a reduced wage.
• Baron & Others (4 Defective Divorces) [2019] EWFC 26
  Judgments (25/04/2019)
  Sir James Munby upholds the decision of Sir Stephen Brown P in Butler v. Butler, The Queen’s Proctor Intervening [1990] 1 FLR 114 as correct and properly to be followed; where a divorce petition has been issued in breach of section 3(1) MCA 1973, then the petition is null and void and the court has no jurisdiction to entertain it. This defect is not curable by amending the original petition. The court has no power to grant discretionary relief in such circumstances.
• Grandison v Joseph [2019] EWHC 977 (Fam)
  Judgments (18/04/2019)
  A husband appeals against an order forcing him to transfer properties into his sole name after he had reneged on an agreement with his wife to do so. Appeal dismissed.
• Ipekci v McConnell [2019] EWFC 19
  Judgments (13/04/2019)
  Judgment of Mr Justice Mostyn refusing to give effect to a prenuptial agreement in circumstances where inter alia it failed to meet the Husband’s needs and there had been no independent legal advice. The court also underlines the importance of compliance with FPR PD27A and the Efficiency Statement of 1 February 2016
• A (Children) [2019] EWCA Civ 609
  Judgments (11/04/2019)
  A father’s appeal against an order dismissing his application for leave to oppose the making of adoption orders under section 47(5) of the Adoption and Children Act 2002. The maternal grandfather’s proposal to now care for the children, having been aware of the proceedings, did not constitute a sufficient change in circumstances. Appeal dismissed.
• PR v JES v TER (Appeal: Sexual Abuse, Fact Finding) [2019] EWHC 791 (Fam)
  Judgments (08/04/2019)
  This was an appeal against findings made within private law proceedings
• C (Declaration of Parentage Written Consent), Re [2019] EWHC 648 (Fam) (12 February 2019)
  Judgments (08/04/2019)
  Application for a Declaration of Parentage following administrative errors by the fertility clinic
• B (Children) [2019] EWCA Civ 575
  Judgments (04/04/2019)
  Case summary coming soon
• G (Children: Intractable Dispute) [2019 ]EWCA Civ 548
  Judgments (04/04/2019)
  This is the second judgment from the Court of Appeal in a long running private law Children Act dispute.
• CM v CM [2019] EWFC 16
  Judgments (01/04/2019)
  Application to determine the wording of a letter of instruction to an expert in financial remedy proceedings. Mr Justice Moor commends the use of arbitration to decide such issues.
• M v P [2019] EWFC 14 (22 March 2019)
  Judgments (01/04/2019)
  Judgment of Sir James Munby (Sitting as a Judge of the High Court) in a case concerning an application by the Queen’s Proctor to set aside a decree nisi of divorce granted in the Willesden County Court in 2013.
• CS v SBH & Ors [2019] EWHC 634 (Fam)
  Judgments (25/03/2019)
  Appeal against an order dismissing the mother’s application for a variation of an order that the child should live with the father.
• AJ v DM [2019] EWHC 702 (Fam)
  Judgments (28/03/2019)
  Judgment of Cohen J concerning jurisdiction and locus for financial remedy proceedings
• Takhar v Gracefield Developments Limited and others [2019] UKSC 13
  Judgments (21/03/2019)
  Appeal considering whether when it is alleged that a judgment was obtained by fraud, that judgment may only be set aside where the applicant can demonstrate that the alleged fraud could not have been uncovered with reasonable diligence in advance of the obtaining of the judgment.
• Re W (Children) (Abduction: Implementatioon of Return Order) [2019] EWHC 357 (Fam)
  Judgments (20/03/2019)
  Application before Mrs Justice Knowles for directions to implement a return order in child abduction proceedings, the outcome turning on construction of the order as amended by the Court of Appeal.
• Re: ABCDEF (Fact Finding: Honour Based Violence) [2019] EWHC 406 (Fam)
  Judgments (20/03/2019)
  Judgment of Keehan J (1) dismissing allegations of honour-based violence, (2) finding that the mother had wrongly and maliciously sought to exclude the father from the child’s life, and (3) making a non-party costs order against an expert reporter who had serially failed to comply with court directions.
• B (A Child: Post-Adoption Contact) [2019] EWCA Civ 29 (30 January 2019)
  Judgments (18/03/2019)
  Appeal heard by the President of the Family Division, Lady Justice King and Lord Justice Coulson which concerns the issue of post-adoption contact.
• M v F (Appeal: Fact Finding) [2019] EWHC 572 (Fam) (12 March 2019)
  Judgments (18/03/2019)
  Mother’s appeal on grounds relating to issues of fairness and public policy, the Findings and the application of the law in respect of a fact finding judgment.
• K (A Child: Stranding: Forum Conveniens: Anti-Suit Injunction) [2019] EWHC 466 (Fam)
  Judgments (15/03/2019)
  Application for the summary return of a child from India: Mr Justice Williams considered whether English proceedings concerning the welfare of a child should be stayed in favour of those taking place in India; consideration of whether an anti-suit injunction should be made against the father pursing those Indian proceedings.
• Re A [2019] EWHC 612 (Fam)
  Judgments (15/03/2019)
  Appeal by mother against an order stopping all direct contact to her daughter
• S (A Child - Hague Convention 1980 - Return To Third State) [2019] EWCA Civ 352
  Judgments (14/03/2019)
  Successful appeal to the Court of Appeal against an order that the child be returned to Hungary, the Court of Appeal considering that there had not been proper consideration of the efficacy of the safety measures purportedly put in place following undertakings given by the father and despite Hungary not being the state of the child’s habitual residence.
• M (Female Genital Mutilation Protection Order - No Order on Application), Re [2019] EWHC 527 (Fam)
  Judgments (14/03/2019)
  Judgment of Knowles J considering whether a FGMPO made without notice to the parents should continue until M is 18 or older.
• Q & V (1980 Hague Convention and Inherent Jurisdiction Summary Return) [2019] EWHC 490 (Fam) (06 February 2019)
  Judgments (11/03/2019)
  Application for the return of Q, aged 17 to Poland under the inherent jurisdiction and for the return of V aged 12 to Poland pursuant to the 1980 Hague Convention
• Q (Child - Interim Care Order - Jurisdiction), Re [2019] EWHC 512 (Fam)
  Judgments (07/03/2019)
  Judgment of Knowles J concerning an issue of jurisdiction, namely whether an interim care order can subsist after the subject child reaches their seventeenth birthday.
• Re H (Care and Adoption - Assessment of wider family) [2019] EWFC 10
  Judgments (06/03/2019)
  Judgment of Cobb J considering whether a local authority is required, by statute or otherwise, to notify wider family members of the existence of the subject child, and/or assess them, when they are not proposed by parents as potential alternative carers, and where the parents (or either of them) specifically do not wish the wider family to be involved.
• G-E (Children : Hague Convention 1980: Repudiatory Retention and Habitual Residence) [2019] EWCA Civ 283 (01 March 2019)
  Judgments (06/03/2019)
  Appeal by Father to the Court of Appeal against the dismissal of his application under the Hague Child Abduction Convention 1980. (The judge had found that by the date of the wrongful retention of the children by the mother they were habitually resident in England and Wales.)
• F v M (Temporary Leave to Remove: Alleged Risk of Onward Abduction to Non-Hague Country)
  Judgments (05/03/2019)
  F’s application to temporarily remove the children to a Hague Convention country, in circumstances where M alleges risk of onward abduction to non-Hague country.
• Y and E (Children) (Sexual Abuse Allegations), Re [2019] EWCA Civ 206
  Judgments (28/02/2019)
  Unsuccessful appeal against findings made in care proceedings that a father had abused his daughter. Detailed analysis of shortcomings alleged on appeal in relation to ABE procedure.
• Button v Salama & Anor [2019] EWHC 363 (Fam)
  Judgments (28/02/2019)
  Mr Justice Mostyn gives a judgment formally asking the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to use “all available diplomatic measures” to help locate a British child, Elsa Salama, who has been missing in Egypt since 2011.
• Cowan v Foreman & Ors [2019] EWHC 349 (Fam)
  Judgments (28/02/2019)
  Judgment of Mr Justice Mostyn considering an application under section 4 of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 for permission to make a substantive application under the Act against the estate of the Claimant’s deceased husband.
• Re P & N (Section 91(14):Application for Permission to Apply: Appeal) [2019] EWHC 421 (Fam)
  Judgments (27/02/2019)
  Successful appeal in private children law case where application by F subject to a s.91(14) order for permission to apply for s.8 order was granted without hearing from M. Correct test and procedure for such applications considered.
• Re B (Capacity- Social Media-Care and Contact) [2019] EWCOP 3
  Judgments (22/02/2019)
  Judgment of Cobb J setting out his conclusions in relation to a range of capacity questions on issues relevant to the life of Miss B, a woman with learning disabilities - including inter alia, use of the internet and communication by social media.
• Re A (Capacity Social Media and Internet Use- Best Interests) [2019] EWCOP 2
  Judgments (22/02/2019)
  Judgment of Cobb J following a hearing in which His Lordship had been invited to make final capacity declarations under section 15 Mental Capacity Act 2005, and best interests decisions, in relation to a young man, A.
• K (Children), Re [2019] EWCA Civ 184
  Judgments (21/02/2019)
  The central issue of the appeal was whether the first instance judge was wrong to make a finding that the appellant father had sexually abused his 6-year-old daughter. The father contended that the evidence was inadequate to support the judge’s findings.
• R ( A Child - Appeal - Termination of Contact) [2019] EWHC 132 (Fam)
  Judgments (20/02/2019)
  Appeal against the decision that R should have no direct contact with the father, an order as to indirect contact and an order under section 91(14) Children Act 1989.
• L-W Children [2019] EWCA Civ 159
  Judgments (20/02/2019)
  Court of Appeal judgment allowing the mother’s appeal to overturn a finding of failure to protect
• G (Children: Fair Hearing), Re [2019] EWCA Civ 126 (07 February 2019)
  Judgments (18/02/2019)
  Procedural appeal against interim care orders by a mother who stated that she was subjected to improper judicial pressure that led to the orders being granted without opposition on her part. Appeal allowed.
• Re E (Abduction Article 13B Deferred Return Order) [2019]
  Judgments (13/02/2019)
  Father’s application for an order requiring the return of his daughter to Spain, pursuant to the Hague Convention.
• X (Wardship - Foreign Proceedings - Child's Evidence) [2019] EWHC 91 (Fam)
  Judgments (13/02/2019)
  Application for X, a ward of the court, to travel to India to answer a witness summons issued by the Indian Criminal Court to give evidence in his mother’s criminal trial in India in which she was charged with the murder of X’s father.
• L v M (Rev 1) [2019] EWHC 219 (Fam)
  Judgments (13/02/2019)
  Application by Father, pursuant to the jurisdiction of the High Court, for the return of twins aged 18 months (both of whom were wards of court) to the jurisdiction of England and Wales.
• A (Children) Re [2019] EWCA Civ 74
  Judgments (06/02/2019)
  Successful appeal of a fact-finding judgment in private law proceedings.
• Re E (Scottish Adopters English Adoption Proceedings) [2019] EWFC 9
  Judgments (06/02/2019)
  Judgment of Cobb J concluding that the adoption application in respect of a child placed for adoption in Scotland with Scottish adopters could be determined in the Family Court of England & Wales.
• BC v BG [2019] EWFC 7
  Judgments (29/01/2019)
  Judgment in respect of a wife’s application for an order that an arbitral award should not be made an order of the court and that the dispute be remitted to the Family Court for reconsideration or back to the arbitrator.
• S v D (Hague Convention: Domestic Abuse: Undertakings: Return to Third State [2019] EWHC 56 (Fam)
  Judgments (18/01/2019)
  Judgment of Cobb J considering a father’s application under the Hague Convention and Article 11 of Council Regulation (EC) 2201/2003 seeking the return of his son to Hungary, despite the parties being habitually resident in Germany at the time of the child’s removal. The decision considers the use of undertakings to protect against the grave risk of harm to the child if his return is ordered.