We are excited to announce that as of the 1 August 2020, our Sussex annexe will be moving to new premises in Brighton: Mocatta House Trafalgar Place Brighton BN1 4DU United Kingdom Please note that our Eastbourne address will therefore close for business
The Current Covid-19 pandemic has caused a great deal of change to the way legal proceedings are conducted and has also prompted a number of amendments to both the Civil Procedure Rules and Family Procedure Rules. As such one non-Covid-19 related amendment to the Civil Procedure Rules which may therefore have escaped the attention of … Continue reading
An article exploring the Expert Panel’s Final Report (June 2020): Why Change is Considered Necessary and Recommendations for Change My colleague Marie Crawford recently wrote about a story that appeared in The Guardian newspaper on 25.6.20 and which referred to the (then unpublished) expert panel report entitled ‘Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents … Continue reading
Many parents find it difficult to agree on the arrangements for their children after separating. This can be an extremely stressful and upsetting situation for everyone concerned. The priority should be to shield the children from arguments wherever possible but what should you do when you receive an application for a Child Arrangements Order and … Continue reading
Summary In the first of two articles on injunctions, I provide a quick guide to injunctions in a civil law context, setting out the relevant legal and practical considerations in making or responding to applications. Injunctions are an equitable remedy, where a court has the discretion to either order a person to refrain from doing … Continue reading
In June 2020 the Family Justice Council (“FJC”) published its report on how to achieve best practice with respect to special guardianship orders. The report arrives in a climate where in recent years, family courts have made more special guardianship orders than placement orders and the proportion of special guardianship order has risen whilst the … Continue reading
I often deal with cases arising from the lack of reasonable financial provision for a spouse or children under a Will, or where a person has died without completing a valid Will. I hope this article will help people avoid some of the most common problems in those situations. While the starting point is that … Continue reading
A client who is successful in most forms of civil litigation can expect to recover some if not all their costs. Since the abolition of the Calderbank offer, it has been difficult to obtain cost orders in financial remedy litigation and the general rule is that the court will not make an order requiring one … Continue reading
When a person loses the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves (and they haven’t already put a power of attorney in place), those who care for them may need to apply to the Court of Protection (COP) to appoint a Deputy. In this article I will briefly sets out the differences between a lasting … Continue reading
The possibility of a detailed assessment of their costs under Section 70 of the Solicitors Act 1974 (the “Act”) is a possibility that all solicitors should be alive too. It is likely to be encountered in some sense during the course of a career and clients are becoming increasingly aware of the option. When a … Continue reading
The Domestic Abuse bill which is making its way through the legislative process and which was delayed as a result of the calling of the general election (and the prorogation of Parliament) has reached the report stage in the commons this week. It is expected to be amended to incorporate the reforms to the legislation … Continue reading
Two short but troubling issues in troubled times: Can the FR Appeal Court hold a one-sided oral permission hearing without formal notice to the Respondent? Does the pandemic/lockdown amount to a Barder event? Plus Arbitration simply is the answer, especially for children. Permission to Appeal Hearing I have recently had to consider whether it is … Continue reading
Summary Is a landlord of a block of flats entitled to grant a licence to a lessee to carry out work which would breach an absolute covenant contained in a lease of their flat, where the leases of other flats in the same building require them to enforce covenants at the request of a lessee … Continue reading
The issue of pensions in financial remedy proceedings is a complex area and has been subject to much change over the years. As many of you will be aware, the Pension Advisory Group (“PAG”) published a comprehensive report ‘A Guide to the Treatment of Pensions on Divorce’ in July 2019. It was a much-welcomed publication … Continue reading
This article seeks to provide a further update from my colleague Paul Tapsell’s article on residential possession and lease forfeiture proceedings during Covid-19. London Borough of Hackney v Okoro [2020] EWCA Civ 681 This case follows the Court of Appeal decision in Arkin v Marshall [2020] EWCA Civ 620 which was recently handed down on … Continue reading
Introduction On Halloween in 2003, the Service Charge (Consultation Requirements) (England) Regulations 2003 (the “Regulations”) came into force, amending section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (“LTA 1985”). This amendment set a financial limit to works carried out on a residential building, beyond which a landlord would have to consult with tenants. That … Continue reading
Summary The recent judgment in S (Parental Alienation: Cult), Re [2020] EWCA Civ 568 provides a useful summary of the law concerning freedom of belief and parental alienation in contested child arrangements orders. The father (F) appealed the refusal of his application for a variation of a child arrangements order amidst continuing concern over the … Continue reading
It is always good to return to basics and remind ourselves of the fundamental principle that ‘findings of fact’ must be based on evidence, and this can include inferences that can properly be drawn from the evidence’. A reminder that it is not on suspicion or simply speculation. (RE A (Fact Finding: Disputed Findings) [2011] … Continue reading
In these times of social distancing & restrictions on movement, when jury trials have come to a halt, and court hearings of all kinds are being adjourned due to the need to maintain social distance. Almost everyone is waiting to see what will happen when the lockdown ends. A backlog of cases is building up, … Continue reading
From the moment that the Government announced the possibility of lockdown measures being imposed, lawyers were inundated with questions about whether and how Child Arrangements Orders should be implemented over this period. As lockdown continues one of our local CAFCASS officers has told practitioners that many parents involved with the service have been able to … Continue reading
Previously, I have considered the Public Sector Equality Duty (“PSED”) and possession proceedings in my article entitled “PSED, Cuckooing and Possession”. Whilst I appreciate that possession proceedings may not be at the forefront in the current climate (and for more information on this, please see Paul Tapsell’s article regarding possession proceedings and the Coronavirus Act … Continue reading
The landscape of February is gone, and legal professionals are all now working in previously unknown circumstances. The daily routine has vanished, we are for the most part not physically attending court, and traditional ways of doing things have changed. Recently I was in a far flung county court with a solicitor colleague as we … Continue reading
Upon returning to Canterbury last month after a week away in London, I am now, like everyone else in the world, only just starting to get used to the surreal new reality we are all living in. However, despite recent events, I have not forgotten how fantastic my first two months of pupillage with Becket … Continue reading
C (A Child) (Interim Separation) [2019] EWCA Civ 1998 (Judgement of Lord Justice, Peter Jackson) _______________________________________________________________________________________ We have all experienced cases, especially when representing a young mother who has been placed with the child, often a first child and a baby, in a mother and baby foster placement and that placement has broken down for … Continue reading
The Coronavirus Act 2020 has put a hold on any existing residential possession proceedings for a period of 90 days and extended the notice period required as a precursor for any new residential possession to three months (section 81 of the Act and Practice Direction 51Z) and removed the right of re-entry or forfeiture for … Continue reading
CAFCASS A County Council v Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) [2019] EWHC 2369 (Fam) Re S [2020] EWHC 217 (Fam) Care proceedings which had originated from a private law dispute between the mother and the fathers of her children. The mother alleged that the fathers had abused their children during contact. … Continue reading
Preparing for A Mediation Appointment As time progresses mediation is being utilised more and more as a result of the significant benefits it provides to parties, including the ability to resolve disputes more quickly and less expensively than court proceedings. Tactics and advocacy utilised during mediation appointments vary greatly between representatives and indeed different disputes … Continue reading
In the case of XW v XH [2019] EWCA Civ 2262 the Court of Appeal overturned a decision made by Baker J (as he then was) in 2017 that the husband (H) should retain the majority of the financial resources partly due to his “special contribution” in a case where H was a ‘breadwinner’ and … Continue reading
I recently represented a claimant defending an application to set aside default judgment. The claimant obtained default judgment for a sum in the region of £2,000 in September 2018 and sought to enforce the judgment in January 2019. The defendant applied to set aside the default judgment in November 2019. The defendant submitted that they … Continue reading
Becket Chambers are continuing to assess the developing situation in relation to Covid-19. We are reviewing the situation daily and will continue to take advice and follow guidance from the Government, Bar Standards Board and Bar Council. All of our systems are cloud based, and as such our clerking team are able to work remotely … Continue reading
The Occupier’s Liability Act 1957 (“1957 Act”) The 1957 Act was enacted to regulate the duty of care which an occupier of premises owes to its visitors. The occupier owes the same duty of care to all its visitors, except in so far as the duty may be extended, restricted, modified or excluded in some … Continue reading
The case of Re A (Children) (Parental Alienation) 2019 EWFC demonstrates clearly the shortcomings of the Family Court to ensure that all children, wherever possible, enjoy a relationship with both of his or her parents. The position of the courts with regard to ordering no direct contact with the absent parent, is that it is … Continue reading
Why, you may be wondering, would a barrister with 28 years’ experience of civil litigation and the adversarial process want to talk about mediation? Surely the whole purpose of barristers, and indeed lawyers, is to let people have their day in court and to demolish the “other side”? The fact of the matter is that … Continue reading
The purpose of this article is to (a) review the guidance set out by the Court of Appeal in the case of Imerman v Tchenguiz and others; Imerman v Imerman [2011] 1 All ER 555 which was heard on the 10th to 12 of May 2010, judgement being handed down on the 29th of July … Continue reading
CAFCASS A County Council v Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) [2019] EWHC 2369 (Fam) Keehan J Judgment: 20th September 2019 This was a public law case which may have relevance in private law proceedings. As part of the threshold grounds, the LA sought a finding that the father had sexually … Continue reading
Hall v Jagger; Akhter v Khan: void, voidable and non- marriages. In 1999, Jerry Hall and Mick Jagger separated and in a move heralding a long and acrimonious legal battle, Jagger sensationally released a public statement saying that he would be contesting Jerry Hall’s petition for divorce on the grounds that he and Jerry Hall … Continue reading
In December 2019 Ms. Justice Russell DBE heard an appeal from a fact-finding hearing that took place in private law Children Act proceedings at the Central Family Court in London in the summer of 2019. Her judgement was given in January 2020 and is reported as JH v. MF [2020] EWHC 86 (Fam). The case … Continue reading
This article explores the issue of domestic abuse in the appeal of Re H v F [2020]. This article should be read in conjunction with Lavinia Glover’s article which analyses the issue of special measures when giving evidence within the same case. JH (Appellant) and MF (Respondent) were 17 years old and 23 years old … Continue reading
We are delighted to welcome Linda Glover who has joined the clerking team as 2nd Junior Clerk.
This article explores the approach a court should take in relation to vulnerable witnesses, in particular those that have experienced domestic abuse. The recent case of H v F [2020] EWHC 86 (Fam) demonstrates that a case will be successful on appeal if the correct procedures are not complied with. Re H v F [2020] … Continue reading
The recent case of AR v ML [2019] EWFC 56 is a cautionary tale against adducing further evidence at a late stage in an attempt to have the last say within financial remedy proceedings. This case centred around the wife’s application for financial remedy arising out of her marriage to the husband. The matter proceeded to a … Continue reading
We are pleased to welcome Allen Worwood who started pupillage on 3rd February 2020.
Financial remedy lawyers are familiar with the Form P1 Pension Sharing Annex under section 24B of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. It records the instructions for how to share a party’s pension and who is to bear the cost, and also contains the parties’ details. It is approved by the court and sent to pension … Continue reading
Early childhood deprivation through neglect and adversity is associated with alterations in the brain structure as adults, despite environmental enrichment in intervening years, according to an article published on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (PNAS) on 7.1.2020. The research, carried out by King’s College London, examined the MRI data … Continue reading
This article explores the recent judgment in Re A (Children) (Parental alienation) [2019] EWFC. Re A is a long, drawn out case involving a mother’s repeated inability to promote the children’s relationship with their father. Professionals concluded that she had at best “allowed the demonisation of the father and, at worst, actively encouraged this demonisation … Continue reading
This article discusses a recent case whereby the court found that as the Defendant’s employee had failed to report an issue with a passenger lift, they had not acted reasonably. Therefore, the Defendant had been in breach of s2 of the Occupiers Liability Act 1957. The Background The Claimant had been staying at one of … Continue reading
Faced with the competing claims of transparency and privacy, free speech and family life, family law will always incline towards the latter. Its first instincts are protective, guarding the intimacies and lives of its own subject families and, particularly, its children.[1] First and foremost, family proceedings are and remain private matters. This fundamental principle holds … Continue reading
The Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) provide for fixed costs in certain elements of civil proceedings, including Small Claims, Fast Track hearings, ‘Stage 3’ hearings and possession claims. This means that any costs applied for that are not those within the fixed costs regimes are unlikely to be awarded by the Court, unless certain factors apply. … Continue reading