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Gay cake row
Not the latest cupcake, popcake, cronut or yumdough! But the case of Gareth Lee v Ashers Baking Co Ltd & Colin McArthur Ltd & Karen McArthur Ltd heard in the High Court of Belfast last month. This case has received a good deal of media attention. The judgment was handed down in the same week […]
Spending £1.5 million on cocaine and prostitutes isn’t wanton says Moor J
The recent case of MAP v MFP [2015] EWHC 627 (Fam) may have further restricted the availability of ‘add-back’ arguments by suggesting that the husband’s expenditure was part of his “complex character” which his spouse must accept as the downside to a personality which enabled him to make a great success of his business. Suggestions […]
Exclusive zero hours contracts banned
What’s this all about then? There is now a ban on clauses in zero hours contracts which prevent workers from holding other jobs at the same time. Legislation: Section 153 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 received Royal Assent on 26 May 2015. This section amends the Employment Rights Act 1996 by […]
Another near miss?
Well, we avoided May bank holiday standstill on our railways. However, Network Rail have announced that they will strike in June 2015 on two days as the RMT workers are left with no option, following the latest pay offer from Network Rail. The rail workers have been offered very small pay rises and no compulsory […]
Justice at its finest
I have been told to write a blog. I do not really know what a blog is so bear with me while I simply rant on for 500 words about family law in 2015. Back in the old days matrimonial finance wasn’t about dispute resolution and finding positive solutions. The emphasis was firmly on the […]
Revisiting a Final Order
Barder v Caluori [1988] remains ever the response to the often posed question as to how final is a final order. Even where there are events or discoveries post order, they of course do not always amount to a Barder event. A recent consideration of this now 27 year old authority demonstrates the accessibility of […]
A clean break, Children and a Statutory Steer
Experience would indicate that where there are young children present as a factor in financial remedy proceedings, judges can be reluctant to order a clean break between the parties ‘just in case’ and a nominal order may prevail. Matthews v Matthews [2014] 2 FLR 1259, a case that reached the heady heights of the Court […]
Bank holiday strike?
As many of us contemplate traffic jams this weekend and whether we can have our rail tickets refunded, here is a timely reminder of the decision in the case of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers v United Kingdom [2014] IRLR 467 The case was unwelcome news for employees but welcome news […]
Watch this space! Rule changes required
CS & ACS (1) BH (2) [2015] EWHC 1005 Fam On 27 November 2008 the terms of a consent order disposing of ancillary relief proceedings were approved by the court. In January 2009 the wife applied for an order to “set aside paragraph 9” of the order. She sought to substitute a nominal maintenance order […]
Varying consent orders: Appeal or Application?
There are some limited occasions in which a party to a final consent order in financial remedy proceedings will want to vary it: fraud, mistake or material non-disclosure are the typical reasons for doing so. The person seeking to vary the consent order has had a choice of procedures to follow: a fresh application to […]
Term orders over Joint lives: That’s Wright!
On 11th February 2015 the Court of Appeal handed down judgment in Wright v Wright [2015] EWCA Civ 201, a case which concerned the thorny issue of spousal periodical payments orders. Whilst the decision caught the attention of many tabloids and newspapers who used headlines such as “Judge tells ex-wife of millionaire horse surgeon: go […]
Justice but at a cost – MG & JG v JF [2015] EWHC 564
We have all considered and fretted over the potential for injustice and inequality of arms when the government, in its infinite wisdom, withdrew legal aid from private law proceedings. The case of MG &JG v JF [2015] EWHC 564 (Fam) is yet another case which allows us to sit back and exclaim ‘we told you […]