Clair Elizabeth Stelfox and John Brian Stelfox
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | O'Hara J |
| Judgment Date | 28 March 2023 |
| Neutral Citation | [2023] NIFam 6 |
| Court | Family Division (Northern Ireland) |
1
Neutral Citation No: [2023] NIFam 6
Judgment: approved by the court for handing down
(subject to editorial corrections)*
Ref: OHA12116
ICOS No: 14/18172/10
14/18172/11
Delivered: 28/03/2023
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN NORTHERN IRELAND
___________
FAMILY DIVISION
___________
Between:
CLAIR ELIZABETH STELFOX
Petitioner
and
JOHN BRIAN STELFOX
Respondent
___________
Ms A O’Grady KC (instructed by Caldwell & Robinson Solicitors) for the Petitioner
Mr M Bready (instructed by Reid Black Solicitors) for the Respondent
___________
O’HARA J
Introduction
[1] On 21 July 2021, I gave judgment on previous applications by the same two
for more than twenty years and have four children. When they divorced in 2016 a
financial settlement was reached and was made a rule of court. The case made by
Mrs Stelfox in the earlier proceedings was that without cause the respondent had
failed to comply with the court order in that he had not paid the maintenance to
which he had agreed and committed himself. She sought his committal for breach of
the court order for maintenance, for false averments made in his affidavits about his
income and employment and for withholding documents on discovery.
[2] For his part, the respondent sought a downwards variation of the
maintenance to zero on the basis that since 2017 he has not been in a position to pay
that maintenance. He also sought remission of all outstanding arrears.
[3] I concluded that the respondent earned more money than his then employer
admitted to the court. I was also satisfied that at certain points in time, and certainly
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