Dorset law firm Ellis Jones Solicitors has claimed three significant victories at court – including two international child abduction cases.
The successful outcomes included hearings at both the High Court of Justice and Bournemouth Family Court with details of the judgments being published by the British and Irish Legal Information Institute (Bailii).
Georgina Emerson, from the firm’s Family team, is listed as a Key Lawyer in 'The Legal 500’ which is one of the world’s leading legal directories, acted for fathers in the unrelated cases.
In the first High Court victory, she successfully defended a father who had travelled with his son to the UK from Cyprus and faced an application by the child’s mother for the child’s summary return to Cyprus.
The case involved various complex issues to include grave risk of harm to the child.
The Judge, David Lock QC, held that there was no jurisdiction to make a return order as the child had become habitually resident in the UK.
The Judge also found that if the boy was returned to Cyprus, he would face grave risk of harm to his physical and psychological health. The Judgment resulted in the Child staying in the country with his father.
In the second High Court case, Georgina acted for the father who resides in South Africa.
The mother had wrongfully removed the parties’ youngest child from South Africa to England without the father’s consent, leaving the parties’ oldest child in the father’s care in South Africa.
The High Court of South Africa had previously made an order for the children to be placed in the father’s primary care and for the mother to return the youngest child to South Africa, the child’s habitual residence.
The mother breached the South African order and defended the father’s application, arguing, amongst other things, that he consented to the child relocating to England and that she and the child would be at grave risk of harm if they were ordered to return.
The Judge did not accept the mother’s defences and ordered for the child to be returned to South Africa within seven days.
Georgina represented the father throughout the court proceedings and ensured that the child was returned to South Africa safely and promptly.
Georgina acted again for the father in the third case – this time in private children law proceedings, involving a three-day Fact Finding hearing at Bournemouth Family Court before His Honour Judge Dancey prior to his retirement– after being approached by a father whose wife had relocated their three children to another part of the country without his knowledge or consent.
The children’s mother had made various allegations against the father to include but not limited to rape, domestic abuse including physical abuse of the children as well as coercive and controlling behaviour.
Another unique and taboo factor of that case was that the father had concealed his HIV+ status from his wife for many years.
However, the Judge concluded that the mother’s unilateral actions in moving the children to the other side of the UK were wrong, that the allegations against the father were fabricated and although non-disclosure of this HIV+ status was wrong and a gross deception it did not create a risk of harm to the children and should not impede on his relationship with them
Georgina went on to successfully achieve an outcome whereby the father had joint shared care of the children so the children could maintain a relationship with both parents.
The Judge said: “My conclusion is that the mother, unhappy with the marriage following the father’s disclosure of his HIV status, sought reasons to justify her departure.
“I do not accept that the mother’s allegations of rape, of controlling and coercive behaviour or of unreasonable physical chastisement of the children are made out. I find that she has fabricated her allegations against the father.”
“I make clear that, abhorrent and abusive though it was in terms of emotional and psychological impact on the mother, the father’s non-disclosure of his HIV+ status does not in itself create a risk to the children (or to the mother) and should not be seen as an impediment therefore to an ongoing and unrestricted relationship with the children through contact.”
Georgina said: “Cases involving children can prove to be challenging and extremely emotive for both parents involved.
“Child Abduction cases are governed by a complex area of law and it is important that clients receive specialist advice so that the appropriate urgent action can be taken – there is no time to waste in those situations.
“All three of these cases involved unusual circumstances and touched upon hot topics in the legal industry such as coercive and controlling behaviour and domestic abuse.”
“They each merited judgments being published in full on Bailii for the benefit of others in the legal profession and they would have no doubt sparked some thought provoking debates in relation to the decisions that were reached.”
“Interestingly, the approach to Fact Finding Hearings has recently been reviewed as a result of the President of the Family Division commissioning Lady Justice Macur to produce a short, clear and practical guidance note for Judges and legal professionals concerning fact-findings hearings and domestic abuse.
“The new guidance is helpful and widely welcomed given the significant number of cases now being issued in the Family Court.”
Ellis Jones is a member of the International Child Abduction & Contact Unit specialist panel of solicitors and is regularly instructed in relation to child abduction proceedings.
Georgina added: “We have a number of child abduction instructions ongoing and are one of the few law firms in the South who act in international child abduction cases.
“It is incredibly rewarding to help clients achieve successful outcomes in court but ultimately it is important that we as solicitors are working to achieve an outcome that is in the child’s best interests.”
Ellis Jones, with more than 170 staff including 21 Partners, has five offices across the south coast in Bournemouth, Canford Cliffs (Poole), Ringwood, Swanage and Wimborne as well as London.
The firm’s Family law services have been listed for their excellence in the recently published 2023 Legal 500 and Chambers UK guides.
Georgina, who qualified as a solicitor just two years ago in March 2021, was also recognised as a Key Lawyer in the Legal 500. She specialises in private children law, international child abduction and relocation, divorce, financial settlements and protecting victims of domestic abuse through injunctive relief.
Georgina instructed Edward Lamb of Deka Chambers and Andrew Powell of 4PB Chambers to act on behalf of her clients in the High Court hearings and Adam Langrish of 3PB Chambers for the Fact-Finding Hearing.
More details about the first child abduction case can be found here: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Fam/2022/1965.html
More details about the fact finding hearing can be found here: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWFC/OJ/2022/B5.html
Details about the second child abduction case will be published on Bailii in the coming months.
Business Partner
Triple success in family court
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