Barker and Ferris

The case of *Barker and Ferris* concerned an application before Moore J regarding the surname of two children, B Barker and L Barker, and contact between the children and their paternal grandfather. The dispute centred on the mother's request to change the children's surname to Ferris, and the father's opposition to this, as well as the father's desire for his own father to have contact with the children.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether the mother should be permitted to register the children with the surname Ferris, and whether the father should be restrained from allowing his father, the paternal grandfather, to have contact with the children. These issues arose in the context of existing orders made on 28 November 2008.

Moore J ordered that the mother be permitted to have the children, B Barker and L Barker, use the surname Ferris. Furthermore, the court granted an injunction restraining the father from permitting his father, the paternal grandfather, to have any contact with the children.