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These cases are from the lawindexpro database. They are now being transferred to the swarb.co.uk website in a better form. As a case is published there, an entry here will link to it. The swarb.co.uk site includes many later cases.  














Family - From: 1997 To: 1997

This page lists 60 cases, and was prepared on 02 April 2018.


 
 Adams v Adams (No 1); 1997 - 1997 SLT 144

 
 Moynihan v Moynihan (No 2); FD 1997 - [1997] 1 FLR 59

 
 Harris v Manahan; CA 1997 - [1997] 1 FLR 205; [1996] 4 All ER 454
 
C v S [1987] 1 All ER 1230
1997


Family


 
D v S (Rights of Audience); In re and Application by Dr Pelling Times, 01 January 1997; [1997] 1 FLR 724; [1996] EWCA Civ 1341; [1997] Fam Law 403; [1997] 2 FCR 217
1997
CA
Lord Woolf MR, Waite, Waller LJJ
Litigation Practice, Legal Professions, Family
The court said that the representation of a litigant in person by a charging non-professional must be only exceptional.
Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 17 18 28
1 Citers

[ Bailii ]
 
Jeyaletchumy Pelling v Michael John Pelling [1997] EWCA Civ 776
15 Jan 1997
CA
Lord Justice Mummery
Costs, Family
The appellant wished to appeal orders for costs made against him in family proceedings. The respondent had filed her bill of costs out of time, with no explanation of the delay. He contended that there was no foundation for the court to exercise its discretion to allow the bill. In the second case he said the judge had been wrong to say that no extension of time was required. Held: What he described was desirable good practice, but did not prevent a taxation of the costs.
1 Cites

[ Bailii ]

 
 Newlon Housing Trust v Alsulaimen; CA 16-Jan-1997 - Times, 24 January 1997; [1997] EWCA Civ 793

 
 Sears Tooth (A Firm) v Payne Hicks Beach (A Firm) and Others; FD 24-Jan-1997 - Gazette, 05 February 1997; Times, 24 January 1997; [1997] 2 FLR 116
 
Christopher Morton Jolly v Registrar of Staines County Court [1997] EWCA Civ 869
29 Jan 1997
CA

Family
Refusal of leave to appeal.
[ Bailii ]
 
Butterworth v Butterworth [1997] EWCA Civ 961; [1997] 2 FLR 336
7 Feb 1997
CA
Brooke, Balcombe LJJ
Family
Brooke LJ, with whom Balcombe LJJ agreed, treated the test for whether behaviour was so unreasonable as to support a petition for divorce as being that laid down by Dunn J in Livingstone-Stallard.
1 Cites

1 Citers



 
 Anita Araghchinchi v Ahad Araghchinchi; CA 26-Feb-1997 - [1997] EWCA Civ 1091; [1997] 2 FLR 142

 
 Newlon Housing Trust v Al-Sulaimen and Another; CA 27-Feb-1997 - Gazette, 27 February 1997
 
Van den Boogaard v Laumen C-220/95; [1997] ECR I-1147; [1997] QB 759; 1997] 3 WLR 284; [1997] ILPr 278
27 Feb 1997
ECJ

European, Family
ECJ If the reasoning of a decision rendered in divorce proceedings shows that the provision which it awards is designed to enable one spouse to provide for himself or herself, or if the needs and resources of each of the spouses are taken into consideration in the determination of its amount, the decision will be concerned with maintenance, and will therefore fall within the scope of the Convention of 27 September 1968 on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial matters, as amended by the Convention of 9 October 1978 on the Accession of the Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and by the Convention of 25 October 1982 on the Accession of the Hellenic Republic. On the other hand, where the provision awarded is solely concerned with dividing property between the spouses, the decision will be concerned with rights in property arising out of a matrimonial relationship and will not therefore be enforceable under the Brussels Convention. A decision which does both these things may, in accordance with Article 42 of the Brussels Convention, be enforced in part if it clearly shows the aims to which the different parts of the judicial provision correspond.
It follows that a decision rendered in divorce proceedings ordering payment of a lump sum and transfer of ownership in certain property by one party to his or her former spouse must be regarded as relating to maintenance and therefore as falling within the scope of the Convention if its purpose is to ensure the former spouse's maintenance. The fact that in its decision the court of origin disregarded a marriage contract is of no account in this regard.
1 Citers

[ Bailii ]
 
Michael Anthony Butler v Griselda Isabel Butler Gazette, 26 March 1997; Times, 06 March 1997; [1997] EWCA Civ 1049; [1998] 1 WLR 1208
6 Mar 1997
CA

Family, Jurisdiction
In divorce proceedings, the issue of forum conveniens is decided by the balance of fairness including convenience. In the end the judge’s discretion is bounded by the statutory considerations which rest upon an evaluation of fairness to the parties rather than upon a comparison of the competing jurisdictions, save insofar as the comparison relates to convenience of witnesses, delay and expense.
Domicile and Matrimonial Proceedings Act 1973 9(1)
1 Cites

1 Citers

[ Bailii ]
 
Piglowska v Piglowski [1997] EWCA Civ 1222
12 Mar 1997
CA
Hirst, Ward LJJ
Family
Application for leave to appeal.
1 Cites

1 Citers

[ Bailii ]
 
Kathryn Jane Macklin v Shaun Jeffrey Macklin [1997] EWCA Civ 1276
19 Mar 1997
CA

Family

[ Bailii ]
 
Van Den Boogard v Laumen Times, 26 March 1997; C-220/95; [1997] EUECJ C-220/95
26 Mar 1997
ECJ

Family
Divorce order made to ensure spouse's maintenance is enforceable in convention countries.
Brussels Convention 1968
[ Bailii ]
 
Emmanuel Francis v Wilma May Manning (Formerly Louis) the only feature of the circumstances which had occurred outside England was the transfer of funds to the bank's New York account.
26 Mar 1997
CA

Children, Family

[ Bailii ]
 
S v S (Matrimonial Proceedings: Appropriate Forum) (Divorce: Staying Proceedings) Times, 16 April 1997; Times, 27 March 1997; [1997] 1 WLR 1200
27 Mar 1997
FD
Wilson J
Family
Fairness is the test for choice of forum for staying divorce proceedings. As to prenuptial agreements, Wilson J suggested that there might come a case: "where the circumstances surrounding the prenuptial agreement and the provision therein contained might, when viewed in the context of the other circumstances of the case, prove influential or even crucial. Where other jurisdictions, both in the United States and in the European Community, have been persuaded that there are cases where justice can only be served by confining parties to their rights under prenuptial agreements, we should be cautious about too categorically asserting the contrary. I can find nothing in section 25 to compel a conclusion, so much at odds with personal freedoms to make arrangements for ourselves, that escape from solemn bargains, carefully struck by informed adults, is readily available here."
Wilson J said: "I am aware of a growing belief that, in the despatch of a claim for ancillary relief in this jurisdiction, no significant weight will be afforded to a prenuptial agreement, whatever the circumstances. I would like to sound a cautionary note in that respect. No one could have more profound respect than I for the observations of Thorpe L.J. In F. v. F. (Ancillary Relief: Substantial Assets) [1995] 2 FLR 45, 66 he said:
"In this jurisdiction [prenuptial agreements] must be of very limited significance. The rights and responsibilities of those whose financial affairs are regulated by statute cannot be much influenced by contractual terms which were devised for the control and limitation of standards that are intended to be of universal application throughout our society."
There is a danger that these wide words might be taken out of context. There is no doubt that, where the English court proceeds to determine an application for ancillary relief, section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 precludes any choice of foreign law, however vividly the circumstances of the case might protest its relevance. So the application is of English law and under section 25(1) regard must be had to all the circumstances of the case. In F. v. F. itself, the result of a strict application of the effect of the prenuptial agreements would have been, as the judge said, "ridiculous." In those circumstances they inevitably constituted circumstances of negligible significance. But there will come a case-were I to refuse a stay, might this be it?-where the circumstances surrounding the prenuptial agreement and the provision therein contained might, when viewed in the context of the other circumstances of the case, prove influential or even crucial. Where other jurisdictions, both in the United States and in the European Community, have been persuaded that there are cases where justice can only be served by confining parties to their rights under prenuptial agreements, we should be cautious about too categorically asserting the contrary. I can find nothing in section 25 to compel a conclusion, so much at odds with personal freedoms to make arrangements for ourselves, that escape from solemn bargains, carefully struck by informed adults, is readily available here. It all depends. The matter must be left open and on the footing that, were she to be enabled to claim ancillary relief in England, the wife might secure an award of substantial further provision. In what follows my duty is to appraise the relevance of the prenuptial agreement to the determination not of the wife's potential application for ancillary relief but of the entirely different issue as to forum."
Domicile and Matrimonial Proceedings Act 1973
1 Citers


 
B v B (Passport Surrender: Jurisdiction) Times, 01 April 1997
1 Apr 1997
FD

Family
The surrender of a passport was only to be used as part of the enforcement of a judgment.

 
Rachel Marry Beeson Watson-Smyth v Edward Michael Watson-Smyth [1997] EWCA Civ 1378
10 Apr 1997
CA

Family
Refusal of leave to appeal against removal of caution allowing sale of family home.
[ Bailii ]
 
L v K [1997] EWCA Civ 1381
11 Apr 1997
CA

Family

[ Bailii ]
 
Luong v Loung (Phoung) [1997] EWCA Civ 1403
15 Apr 1997
CA

Family
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 another woman into his marriage. Any behaviour by the wife was not such as to found a proposition that the husband could not be expected to live with her.
1 Cites


 
John Michael Richard Foenander v Carol Iris Foenander [1997] EWCA Civ 1430
17 Apr 1997
CA

Family

[ Bailii ]

 
 X, Y and Z v The United Kingdom; ECHR 22-Apr-1997 - Gazette, 30 April 1997; Times, 23 April 1997; 21830/93; [1997] 24 EHRR 143; [1997] ECHR 20
 
Jill Edith Canavan v John Stephen Francis Canavan [1997] EWCA Civ 1531
25 Apr 1997
CA

Family
Application for leave to appeal from a judgment in ancillary relief proceedings upholding on a clean break basis an award of a lump sum payment to the wife of £49,000. It had been a short marriage between a husband who was 45 and a wife who was 49 when their marriage took place in 1989.
[ Bailii ]
 
Wheeldon v Wheeldon [1997] EWCA Civ 1550
29 Apr 1997
CA

Family, Police

Domestic Violence and Matrimonial Proceedings Act 1976 2(3)
[ Bailii ]

 
 In Re H (A Minor) (Chambers Proceedings: Mckenzie Friend); CA 6-May-1997 - Times, 06 May 1997; [1997] EWCA Civ 1436; [1997] 2 FLR 423
 
Stephanie Margaret Rowan v David John Cannon [1997] EWCA Civ 1713
15 May 1997
CA

Family

[ Bailii ]
 
Adam Andrzej Klosok v Hester Mary Klosok [1997] EWCA Civ 1750
22 May 1997
CA

Family

[ Bailii ]
 
Silvester v Silvester [1997] EWCA Civ 1788
4 Jun 1997
CA

Family

[ Bailii ]
 
Dr Lucija Perharic v Sadie Hennessey [1997] EWCA Civ 1815
9 Jun 1997
CA

Family

[ Bailii ]
 
Anchor v Anchor [1997] EWCA Civ 1819
10 Jun 1997
CA

Family

[ Bailii ]
 
Harris v Harris Unreported, 11 June 1997
11 Jun 1997
CA

Family, Criminal Practice
The interests of the family in ancillary relief proceedings had to be postponed to those of the victims of the dishonest husband.
1 Citers


 
Hocking and Hocking v Hocking [1997] EWCA Civ 1847
12 Jun 1997
CA

Wills and Probate, Family

Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975
[ Bailii ]
 
Peter Leslie Bernard Ross v Elaine Telford Linkside Development Company Limited [1997] EWCA Civ 1948
24 Jun 1997
CA

Family, Company

[ Bailii ]
 
Fuljan Bibi v Chief Adjudication Officer Times, 10 July 1997; Gazette, 09 July 1997; [1997] EWCA Civ 1957
25 Jun 1997
CA

Benefits, Family
A widow from a polygamous marriage is not entitled to the widowed mother's allowance, despite the payment of national insurance contributions by the deceased father. There must have been a valid English marriage, according to the lex loci.
Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 37
1 Citers

[ Bailii ]
 
Marriott v Marriott [1997] EWCA Civ 2050
8 Jul 1997
CA

Family
Application for leave to appeal against final ancillary relief order.
[ Bailii ]

 
 Hutchinson v Baldock; CA 9-Jul-1997 - [1997] EWCA Civ 2060
 
Conran v Conran Times, 14 July 1997; [1997] 2 FLR 615
14 Jul 1997
FD
Wilson J
Family
In deciding financial settlement, the court can consider contribution made by the Wife through her own special skills to the husband's business. One could not sensibly fit an allowance for contribution into an analysis of a wife's needs. That would do violence to language and to section 25(2), where contribution and needs are set out as different matters to which the court is required to have regard.
Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 25
1 Cites

1 Citers


 
Practice Direction (Family Proceedings: Financial Dispute Resolution) Times, 15 July 1997
15 Jul 1997
FD

Family
Family Dispute Resolution hearings are confidential; matters disclosed not to be used outside those hearings.

 
Regina v Staines County Court ex parte Jolly [1997] EWCA Civ 2202
25 Jul 1997
CA

Family

[ Bailii ]
 
Lindsey Ann Kelley v Jean Corston Times, 20 August 1997; Gazette, 28 August 1997; [1997] EWCA Civ 2081; [1998] 1 FLR 996; [1998] 3 WLR 246
20 Aug 1997
CA
Butler-Sloss LJ, Pill LJ, Judge J
Legal Professions, Family
The plaintiff employed the defendant barrister to pursue her claim for ancillary relief in divorce. She sought to recover damages for his alleged negligence. Held: A barrister's immunity from suit for negligence in advocacy extends to settlements made under court approval and once there has been any intervention of the court.
Butler-Sloss LJ said: "Although it is possible for the parties, after the dissolution of their marriage to agree a settlement without recourse to the courts it is a widespread practice to embody the agreement in a court order with the advantages of court enforcement of the provisions of the order if not complied with."
1 Cites

1 Citers

[ Bailii ]
 
Re B (Minors) [1997] EWCA Civ 2311
22 Aug 1997
CA

Family, Contempt of Court

[ Bailii ]
 
Antonio Paulo Richard Camara v Secretary of State for Home Department [1997] EWCA Civ 2312
26 Aug 1997
CA

Immigration, Human Rights, Family

[ Bailii ]
 
Robert John Dickie v Diedre Dickie [1997] EWCA Civ 2315
27 Aug 1997
CA

Family

[ Bailii ]
 
Zangoura v Michalakis Theophanou Zangoura [1997] EWCA Civ 2364
24 Sep 1997
CA

Family
Ancillary relief - family business.
[ Bailii ]
 
Marshall v Beckett (2) [1997] EWCA Civ 2380
2 Oct 1997
CA

Family
Ancillary relief - what level of housing was required by wife.
[ Bailii ]
 
Shibna Begum v Ruhul Anam [1997] EWCA Civ 2414
3 Oct 1997
CA

Family

[ Bailii ]
 
Wicks v Wicks [1997] EWCA Civ 2421
6 Oct 1997
CA
Gibson, Ward LJJ
Family
The husband sought leave to appeal against an ancillary relief order. Granted.
1 Citers

[ Bailii ]
 
Diane Jean Sellers v Michael Ernest Sellers [1997] EWCA Civ 2440
8 Oct 1997
CA

Family

[ Bailii ]
 
C v C (Questionnaire) [1997] EWCA Civ 2466
13 Oct 1997
CA

Family
Ancillary relief application - substantial questionnaire.
[ Bailii ]
 
M v B (Ancillary Proceedings: Lump Sum) Times, 15 October 1997; [1998] 1 FLR 53
15 Oct 1997
CA
Thorpe LJ
Family
The couple had two children aged 10 and 6 and the question was whether the wife should have a house which cost £210,000, leaving the husband without enough to buy a property of his own, or a house costing £135,000, leaving the husband £75,000 to buy a property of his own. Held: When apportioning property where children in family, both parents are to be provided with a home if at all possible: "In all these cases it is one of the paramount considerations, in applying the section 25 criteria, to endeavour to stretch what is available to cover the need of each for a home, particularly where there are young children involved. Obviously the primary carer needs whatever is available to make the main home for the children, but it is of importance, albeit it is of lesser importance, that the other parent should have a home of his own where the children can enjoy their contact time with him. Of course there are cases where there is not enough to provide a home for either. Of course there are cases where there is only enough to provide one. But in any case where there is, by stretch and a degree of risk-taking, the possibility of a division to enable both to rehouse themselves, that is an exceptionally important consideration and one which will almost invariably have a decisive impact on outcome."
1 Citers


 
Bridget Rosemary Thurston v Erwin Ignaz August Thurston [1997] EWCA Civ 2579
28 Oct 1997
CA

Family

[ Bailii ]

 
 Piglowska v Piglowski; CA 3-Nov-1997 - [1997] EWCA Civ 2622
 
Trustees of Estate of Hellyer (a Bankrupt) v Hellyer and others [1997] EWCA Civ 2826; [1996] 2 FLR 579
25 Nov 1997
CA

Family, Insolvency
The court does have power to order a bankrupt former spouse to pay a lump sum to the other in very exceptional circumstances.
[ Bailii ]
 
C v C (Non-Molestation Order: Jurisdiction) Times, 16 December 1997; Gazette, 10 December 1997
10 Dec 1997
FD

Family
The publication of allegations of previous misconduct was not capable of constituting molestation justifying a court order.
Family Law Act 1996 42

 
Carole Anne Bowra v Kenneth Leonard Bowra [1997] EWCA Civ 3002
16 Dec 1997
CA

Family
Ancillary relief application.
[ Bailii ]
 
Ruqia Khatun Matin v Abdul Matin [1997] EWCA Civ 3076
19 Dec 1997
CA

Family

[ Bailii ]

 
 Wicks v Wicks; CA 29-Dec-1997 - Times, 29 December 1997; Gazette, 04 February 1998; [1997] EWCA Civ 3050; [1998] 1 FLR 470
 
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