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03 April 2008 / Claire Hanford
Issue: 7315 / Categories: Features , Public , Family
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Family Law Update

VB v JP: compensation is no more than and aspect of fairness.
Nicholls v Nicholls: the court was right to show its “disapproval of the disobedience to its order”.

The House of Lords put forward the concept of “compensation” in Miller v Miller; McFarlane v McFarlane [2006] UKHL 24, [2006] 3 All ER 1 and the debate has run ever since. In VB v JP [2008] EWHC 112 (Fam), [2008] All ER (D) 230 (Jan) the president of the Family Division, Sir Mark Potter, provides guidance on the issue.

 

VB v JP

This case concerns W’s application for an increase in periodical payments. The original ancillary relief proceedings were heard in June 2001 following the parties’ 11-year marriage. At the time of the original proceedings H was 37 years old and W was 39. There were two children from the marriage, both boys, then aged four and six. They are now aged 11 and 13. Both live with their mother and are day boys at public schools. H was

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NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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