header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
09 August 2018 / David Burrows
Issue: 7805 / Categories: Features , Divorce , Family
printer mail-detail

Owens & how to plead a divorce case

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
nlj_7805_burrows

Mrs Owens & the Supreme Court: was all the relevant evidence heard before the court below? David Burrows investigates

  • Was Tini Owens given a proper trial of all of the allegations which she could have put before the first instance judge?

Mrs Tini Owens (TO) is to remain nominally married to Mr Hugh Owens (HO) ( Owens v Owens [2018] UKSC 41), at least till one of them can obtain a decree nisi based on their having lived apart for five years (Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) s 1(2)(e)) in early 2020. The Supreme Court has refused her appeal, for much the same reason as did the Court of Appeal ( Owens v Owens [2017] EWCA Civ 182, [2017] 4 WLR 74). However, in the course of the judgments of Lord Wilson and Lady Hale, disturbing elements of the way the case had been put before the court below emerged. These suggest that TO may not have been given a proper trial of all of the allegations

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
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 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
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
Your magistrates’ court needs you!
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
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’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
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’ 
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll