Sharland v Sharland [2014] EWCA Civ 95; [2015] UKSC 60 – Law Journals

Legal professional privilege: Behind closed doors

Kelly Merris and Charlie Fikry provide an analysis of a case involving legal professional privilege where fraud was alleged and assess the wider implications ‘Legal professional privilege is considered a fundamental condition on which the administration of justice rests.’ In Bruzas v Saxton [2018] Holman J gave a preliminary judgment following a highly unusual sequence …

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Disclosure: No place to hide

Marilyn Bell provides a recap on the duty of financial disclosure, and the remedies available to combat incomplete disclosure ‘The court will look at the facts at the time the order was made, not with the benefit of hindsight.’ The parties to a divorce may provide financial disclosure voluntarily, or as part of court proceedings. …

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Financial Provision: An open door

David Hickmott examines the Supreme Court decision in Birch v Birch and the importance of the discretionary jurisdiction in the family courts ‘The matter could, and should, have been more expeditiously dealt with had the parties addressed the court as to a proper inquiry into the merits of the wife’s application, rather than being derailed …

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Disclosure: Coming clean

Emma Doughty explores the practical challenges when dealing with the ongoing duty to provide full and frank disclosure in financial proceedings ‘It is a decision for the client as to how much they investigate their interest in a discretionary trust, but they should be warned that if it later transpires that they have failed to …

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Disclosure: Managing management

Eugenie Taylor looks at whether it is possible to exonerate a party from their duty of disclosure ‘It could not be right, if a finding was made that the deceased deliberately had misled the appellant and the court, for her conduct to be saved by a delay on the part of the appellant in discovering …

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Non-Disclosure: The Watergate effect

Max Lewis reflects on the impact of Sharland and Gohil and outlines the key points applied by the court in AB v CD ‘Inferences can be drawn from a failure to properly answer questions about post-order transactions that are adverse to what that party said about the position at the time of the order.’ It …

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Arbitration: Seeking finality

Suzanne Kingston and Natalie O’Shea highlight the new children arbitration scheme and analyse the impact of the post-arbitration decision in DB v DLJ ‘Under the children arbitration scheme, disputes concerning the exercise of parental responsibility and other private law issues connected to the welfare of children may be resolved.’ The children arbitration scheme, approved by …

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Financial Provision: Two worlds

Fiona O’Sullivan, Mark Surguy and Gareth Griffiths compare and contrast the approaches to privacy and disclosure in family and commercial cases ‘Does the duty to make full and frank disclosure trump the employee or director’s duties to keep confidential information about the company confidential?’There is a tension between the duties owed by commercial entrepreneurs, who …

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Enforcement: A rare bird

Lottie Tyler considers whether a court-appointed receiver may be an overlooked method of enforcement, not an unjustifiable expense ‘The possibility of an order appointing a receiver can be a substantial threat to wield against a respondent who is used to enjoying autonomy and control in all aspects of their life.’ The decisions in Sharland v …

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Non-Disclosure: Facing the music

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Rebecca Harling highlights the consequences of material non-disclosure and the approach of the courts ‘The Supreme Court has confirmed that dishonest spouses found to have concealed their assets during the course of proceedings should not be allowed to benefit financially from their material non-disclosure or fraud.’ All parties to financial remedy proceedings are subject to …

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