(Chancery Division; Stuart Isaacs QC sitting as deputy High Court judge, 20 January 2006) [2006] BPIR 417, [2006] FLR (forthcoming)

The trustee in bankruptcy applied for sale of the matrimonial home. The sale was opposed by the bankrupt's partner because of the presence of the couple's four children in the family home which, it was claimed, amounted to 'exceptional' circumstances rebutting the presumption that sale would be ordered.

The appeal against the order for sale was dismissed; the judge had properly concluded that there were no 'exceptional' circumstances in the case. This narrow construction of exceptional circumstances did not involve infringement of the right to respect for family life under Art 8 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 1950.