When a divorcing husband and wife ran up legal costs of more than £150,000 disputing the division of family assets amounting to little more than £200,000, the judge hearing the case described himself as ‘appalled’.
In the initial court hearing, the wife was awarded approximately 6/7 of the couple’s joint assets. Because of her ex-husband’s substantial earnings, she was awarded £3,000 a month in maintenance for herself and the couple’s three children.
When she appealed against the decision – at a cost of a further £12,500 – the judge put his foot down, describing the way she conducted the case as ‘attritional’. Whilst allowing her to appeal, he limited her recoverable costs to £5,000, ‘to discourage profligate waste of costs, particularly in a case with a track record like this’.
The judge hearing the appeal commented, “I recognise that the costs cap that I am imposing will mean that the wife already has unrecoverable costs... If that is what it takes to prevent what the district judge described as a haemorrhaging of money, so be it.”
Demanding a court hearing to decide issues in such cases can prove expensive, as this case shows. We can help you negotiate a fair settlement without the potential risk of irrecoverable legal costs.
Mauro Vinti.
For further informaiton on this article, or other related matters, please contact Mauro Vinti on 0121 747 3300, email m.vinti@sydneymitchell.co.uk or fill in our online enquiry form.
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