Divorce Flashcards
Clarkson v Clarkson
Adultery = voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a person of the opposite sex, who may or not be married, and who was not the other person’s spouse
Cleary v Cleary
Cross petitions - wife alleging behaviour, husband alleging adultery. Held that only two things must be proven - adultery and intolerability.
Carr v Carr
Intolerability arose from the husband’s treatment of the children rather than as a result of the adultery, but it still counted.
Ash v Ash
Can this petitioner, with his or her character and personality, with his or her faults and other attributes, good or bad, and having regard to his or her behaviour during the marriage, reasonably be expected to live with this respondent?
Livingston-Stallard
The jury approach, would any right-thinking person come to the conclusion that this husband had acted in a way that his wife could not reasonably be expected to live with him (taking into account the circumstances and personalities of the parties)?
Richards v Richards
Husband was mentally ill, assaulted wife due to his illness, wife left due to hostility between her husband and her mother. Held that there was no behaviour which would make it unreasonable for her to live with him as the hostility was not between her and her husband
Thurlow v Thurlow
Wife suffered from epilepsy, bad temper, threw things at her mother in law, husband could not cope, his health suffered, held that it was unreasonable to expect them to live together.
Butterworth v Butterworth
Husband was a heavy drinker, jealous and possessive, sexually demanding, stopped wife from, going to church. Lack of details before recorder. Decree was granted. Held on appeal - husband was entitled to proper pleadings so he could deny.
Hadjimilitis v Tsavliris
Husband claimed marriage had irretrivably broken down but also claimed wife only married him for his money, claim/belief in itself undermined the marriage and made it unreasonable to expect her to live with him.
Lindner v Rawlins
Solicitor applied for divorce on the basis that his wife advertised herself as a lesbian prostitute on gumtree, and that she’d met 13 women online. Wife denied allegations, cross petitioned that husband had been controlling and violent. Court of Appeal pointed out that since they’d been seperated for 2 years that could petition under that fact.
Le Brocq v Le Brocq
Wife excluding husband from marital bedroom was not desertion.
Santos v Santos
Marriage is only at an end when at least one party realises marriage is over.
Mouncer v Mouncer
Parties failed to show seperate households as they still ate meals together and wife still cooked for husband and did his laundry.
Owens v Owens
Husband and wife had been married for 37 years, wife petitioned for divorce on the basis that she could not reasonably be expected to live with him, the husband contested the application. At first instance the judge held that the wife’s allegations were at best flimsy and the application was refused On the wife’s appeal - the appeal was dismissed, the judge had correctly applied the law although there is a strong argument that the law no longer reflects modern day realities and no fault divorce was called for. The wife would have to wait for 5 years separation.
