Nick Wikeley and Lisa Young: Secrets and lies: no deceit down under for paternity fraud

Nick Wikeley is the John Wilson Chair in Law School of Law University of Southampton UK. Lisa Young is an Associate Professor School of Law Murdoch University Australia.

Novel legal actions seeking damages in deceit for paternity fraud are appearing around the world. Until recently the only reported decision in England and Wales was P v B (Paternity: Damages for Deceit) in which Stanley Burnton J decided as a preliminary point of jurisdiction that such an action was possible. Australias High Court has now decided its first such case (Magill v Magill). While all of their Honours held that the tort was not made out on the facts of the particular case they also addressed at length the general question of the applicability of deceit to paternity lies within marriage. A variety of reasons were adopted with the majority holding that there was no cause of action in deceit in these circumstances. Shortly after that decision the English High Court handed down judgment in A v...

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