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E v L – Short marriages, ‘childlessness’ and companies (Oh, and, costs . . .)
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Emily Ward Barrister & Deputy Head of Family at Broadway House Chambers & Deputy District Judge FRC
In July of this year Mostyn J delivered his judgment in the case of E v L [2021] EWFC 60. The case received a fair amount of attention not least due to the consideration of ‘childlessness’ and the concept of sharing in the context of the short length of the parties’ marriage. Mostyn J also grappled with different company valuations and further delivered a short costs judgment with an eye on para 4.4 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 r 28A and the duty to openly negotiate on a reasonable basis.
The opening sticks: The wife sought a lump sum of £5.5m said by her to be the calculation of half of the marital acquest based on the valuations provided by the Single Joint Expert. The husband’s open position was that he should pay the wife a lump sum of £600 000. Described by Mostyn J as ‘extraordinary’ the difference between the parties’ positions was said to be a product of ‘imprecision within the case-law’ combined with...
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