The court considered a petition for divorce beased upon unreasonable behaviour. The Wife petitioner appealed from the decision dismissing her petition for the dissolution of her marriage to the respondent.
Held: After discussing O’Neill: ‘one looks to this husband and this wife, or vice versa, but one also looks at what is reasonable. That is the point referred to by Roskill LJ in his judgment in the same case at p 1125, where he adopted as correct the test which Dunn J had applied in the Livingstone-Stallard case. And again referring to O’Neill: ‘That, in effect, is proposing precisely the same test as referred to by Cairns LJ quoting from Rayden. One considers a right-thinking person looking at the particular husband and wife and asks whether the one could reasonably be expected to live with the other taking into account all the circumstances of the case and the respective characters and personalities of the two parties concerned. That, it will readily be appreciated, is a substantially different test from that applied by the recorder in directing himself in the instant case.’
May LJ said: ‘the gravity or otherwise of the conduct complained of is of itself immaterial. What has to be asked, as will appear from the judgment in O’Neill, is whether the behaviour is such that the petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with the respondent.’
May LJ, Ewbank J
[1988] 2 FLR 365, [1987] EWCA Civ 4
Bailii
Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 1(2)(b)
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – O’Neill v O’Neill CA 1975
The court considered the level of unreasonable behaviour necessary to found a decree of divorce.
Cairns LJ said: ‘The right test is, in my opinion, accurately stated in Rayden on Divorce . . ‘The words ‘reasonably be expected’ prima facie . .
Cited – Livingstone-Stallard v Livingstone-Stallard FD 1974
Section 1(2)(b) is expressed in very simple language, and ‘is . . quite easy for a layman to understand’. The court considered the necessary test for whether unreasonable behaviour had reached a point such as to allow a decree of divorce.
Dunn . .
Cited by:
Cited – Luong v Loung (Phoung) CA 15-Apr-1997
The husband appealed refusal of a decree of divorce. The judge found that the wife’s behaviour was insufficient to found a decree.
Held: The judge had applied the correct test. At issue here was really the wish of the huband to introduce . .
Cited – Owens v Owens CA 24-Mar-2017
Unreasonable Behaviour must reach criteria
W appealed against the judge’s refusal to grant a decree of divorce. He found that the marriage had broken down irretrievably, but did not find that H had behaved iin such a way that she could not reasonably be expected to live with H.
Held: . .
Cited – Owens v Owens CA 24-Mar-2017
Unreasonable Behaviour must reach criteria
W appealed against the judge’s refusal to grant a decree of divorce. He found that the marriage had broken down irretrievably, but did not find that H had behaved iin such a way that she could not reasonably be expected to live with H.
Held: . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Family
Leading Case
Updated: 01 November 2021; Ref: scu.262648