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
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
COSTS Timokhina v Timokhin [2019] EWCA Civ 1284 Lord Justice Underhill, Lady Justice King and Lord Justice Moylan Judgment: 18th July 2019 These proceedings concerned the parties’ two children aged 15 and 8. The parents were Russian, who moved to London in 2004. Following the breakdown of the marriage, bitter court proceedings ensued in relation to … Continue reading
Y and E (Children) (Sexual Abuse Allegations) [2019] EWCA Civ 206 Judgment: 21 February 2019 Baker and Underhill LJJ and Sir Patrick Elias The child was aged 12 by the time of the appeal. In 2010, a year after the parents separated, the child began to suggest that she had been sexually abused by her … Continue reading
Cumulative Edition 2018 by Kevin Jackson Contents Civil Restraint Orders AEY v AL (Family Proceedings Civil Restraint Order) 18th November 2018 [2018] EWHC 3253 (Fam) Committal CH and CT 25th May 2018 [2018] EWHC 1310 (Fam) Egeneonu and Egeneonu and Anor 6th June 2018 [2018] EWHC 1392 (Fam) Egeneonu and Egeneonu 18th July 2018 [2018] … Continue reading
QUARTERLY DIGEST October to December 2018 PRIVATE LAW Civil Restraint Orders AEY v AL (Family Proceedings Civil Restraint Order) [2018] EWHC 3253 (Fam) 18th November 2018 Knowles J The father had engaged in long running family proceedings regarding his three children. In the current proceedings the father made a further application for a child arrangements … Continue reading
QUARTERLY DIGEST PRIVATE LAW Disclosure Lancashire County Council v A, B, and Z (A Child Fact Finding Hearing Police Disclosure) [2018] EWHC 1819 (Fam) 25th July 2018 Knowles J This was a fact-finding hearing following the death of a child whilst in both parents’ care. During the trial, it became clear that the police held … Continue reading
Committal CH and CT [2018] EWHC 1310 (Fam) Baker J The paternal grandmother (PGM) and her partner applied for a child arrangements order (CAO). A CAO was granted but M did not comply with the order. The PGM applied for enforcement of the order and argued that only a suspended sentence of imprisonment would make … Continue reading
Experts Buerhlen and Buerhlen [2017] EWHC 3643 (Fam) Moor J dismissed the father’s appeal against the decision of HHJ Scarratt that it was not necessary to instruct an expert as to earning capacity. The judge had correctly applied the test of necessity as described in Re HL [2013] EWCA (Civ) 655, that evidence that is … Continue reading
A distillation of the key points from this important guideline case concerning hair strand drug testing. On 29th September 2017 after 6 days of evidence, legal argument and submissions Mr. Justice Peter Jackson handed down a Judgment that looked at several key issues that are relevant to practitioners in public and private law family proceedings … Continue reading
Identifying The Problem Court proceedings involving the phenomenon of the ‘excluded parent’ can take many forms. Such cases are variously described as parental alienation/ hostility, intractable contact, chronic litigation disputes etc. There is no definition of these terms but as practitioners we encounter them quite regularly and we recognise them when we see them. Getting … Continue reading