Well, this was a case wading through treacle. Poor judge. Lots of unravelling of facts to decide what was true and what was not so true. The name of the case is MS v FS [2020] EWFC B9. The first part of the case is the working out what is true bit. You can see that HERE. The next bit was about costs and whether one should pay the other. You can see the next instalment HERE
The case involved divorce and financial proceedings. In this case, the husband made an application for the decree absolute in the divorce to be set aside and the financial consent order also. Why? He found out when he began court proceedings in 2017 for divorce that the wife had divorced him in 2011 and got a financial order – but he did not know anything about it. It all came out then – the divorce petition, the supposed consent order, the family home having been transferred into the wife’s name…. a complex set of facts. Added to this, the judge has palpable frustration over documents not being produced when they should have been and not being in the bundle. Both parties had remarried – the husband in a religious ceremony in Pakistan (saying he did not think he had to be divorced to do that) and the wife in 2017. There was a handwriting expert looking at signatures. Very interesting to wade through.
It is a long judgment but a testament to the skill of the judge that it is readable and easy to follow. The costs part of the case is equally as ‘squirm worthy’. Yoiks! I recommend a cup of tea after reading this.
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