Consequences of breaching a court order
In a recent case Trott v Trott & Another [2016] EWFC B35, a husband and his new wife were sentenced to prison as a result of breaching court orders made in relation to the husband’s financial remedy proceedings.
Although committal proceedings commenced a year ago, it was not until the hearing on 29 April 2016, following the new wife being joined to the proceedings, that HHJ Hudson finally heard the committal application.
The husband admitted to selling a motor home vehicle (despite doing so with his ex-wife’s agreement), failing to transfer the proceeds of sale of a caravan worth £8,000 to the solicitor and disposing of £100,000 worth of share sale proceeds in breach of the order. The new wife, on the other hand, who was subject to an order “to assist the court”, admitted to failing to disclose bank statements and relevant documentation relating to a property purchase, which had been ordered by the court.
“In light of the gravity of the circumstances”, the husband was sentenced to 28 days’ imprisonment for the first two breaches and three months’ imprisonment for the third “most serious” breach, which were to start at the same time. Although the new wife claimed that she had failed to fully appreciate the implications of her lack of compliance and, in fact, eventually provided the outstanding documents by the time of the hearing in April 2016, she was nevertheless still handed a 14-day prison sentence.
The judge made it clear that each case should be considered on its own facts, however, in general, this case reflects a growing trend of family judges who are taking a more severe stance when faced with breaches of court orders. The case, therefore, may also serve as a potential warning for those who fail to comply with their duties to the court in financial remedy proceedings.