S v S (Ancillary Relief: Preliminary Hearing of Oral Evidence)
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 2005 |
| Date | 2005 |
| Year | 2005 |
| Court | Family Division |
Practice and procedure – Family Division – Ancillary relief proceedings – Oral disclosure – Preliminary hearing – Procedure – Guidance – Family Proceedings Rules 1991, SI 1991/1247, r 2.51B.
The parties had been married for approximately eight years. They had no children together. By the time of their separation the husband’s wealth, generated from commercial interests in Africa, was held in corporate structures in offshore tax havens. The maintenance proceedings were contested and the matter was transferred to the High Court where directions were given. A further directions hearing was also scheduled. Subsequently counsel agreed to the suggestion that a further hearing for the purpose of oral examination and cross-examination of the husband should be held. On the day of the hearing, following cross-examination, negotiations ensued and the application was settled by the end of that day.
Held – In the circumstances of the instant case it was appropriate to hold a preliminary oral hearing. Such a procedure was concordant with the overriding objective applicable to ancillary relief proceedings set out in r 2.51B of the Family Proceedings Rules 1991, SI 1991/1247. There were a number of advantages to adopting the process including fully testing explanations and factual issues at an early stage and enabling the court to give more focused directions.
Case referred to in judgmentJ v V (disclosure: offshore corporations) [2003] EWHC 3110 (Fam), [2004] 1 FLR 1042.
Nicholas Mostyn QC and Tim Bishop (instructed by Withers) for the petitioner.
Lewis Marks QC and James Ewins (instructed by Rooks Rider) for the respondent.
Cur adv vult
6 October 2004. The following judgment was delivered.
COLERIDGE J.[1] Today I approved a settlement of an application for ancillary relief. In round terms the value of the settlement to the wife was £2m. Nothing exceptional
arises out of the fact or amount of the settlement. However the procedural route by which the settlement was achieved was novel and, dare I say, innovative. Following settlement counsel have invited me to set out shortly the procedure adopted in this case as it is thought to be potentially of wider professional interest. I agree with them and am happy to do so.
[2] The background facts are simple. This was a case involving a marriage of some eight years between a husband and wife both of whom had been married before. There was a 20-year age difference between them and there were grown up children but not of this...
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