Our articles are written by experts in their field and include barristers, solicitors, judges, mediators, academics and professionals from a range of related disciplines. Family Law provides a platform for debate for all the important topics, from divorce
and care proceedings to transparency and access to justice. If you would like to contribute please email
editor@familylaw.co.uk.
The potential significance of BT v CU: an in-depth examination, Part 1
© Copyright LexisNexis 2024. All rights reserved.
Elizabeth Wark Barrister Three Doctor Johnson’s Buildings
In BT v CU the Husband failed to make out a case that there had been a qualifying Barder event. In his failure he joined the majority of applicants seeking to set-aside on this basis.
The Husband argued that the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on his business supplying school meals was such that a final financial remedies order under which he was to pay a series of lump sums should be set aside.
Mr Justice Mostyn agreed with counsel for the Wife – if the facts of Myerson did not satisfy Lord Brandon’s ‘first Barder condition’ “then it is impossible for these facts to do so”.
Practitioners should be careful to look beyond that headline point. Mr Justice Mostyn engages in a detailed analysis of other issues: the test for ‘foreseeability’ the scope of the Thwaite jurisdiction and the court’s (absence of) power to vary the quantum of a lump sum payable by instalments.
On these issues the High Court and Court of Appeal have previously expressed other views. Whether the higher courts endorse...
Read the full article here.
