Matlock and Burrell and Ors

The case of Matlock and Burrell and Ors involved an application before Johns J concerning a child, C. The dispute centred on the child's contact with the first respondent, the child's father, and the second respondent, the child's paternal grandmother. The proceedings were resolved by consent at the conclusion of evidence.

The court was required to determine the nature and extent of any future contact or communication between the child C and the first and second respondents. This included considering the implications of expert evidence regarding the child's readiness for re-introduction to the paternal grandmother.

Johns J made orders by consent, discharging interim orders made on 28 October 2015. Crucially, the court ordered that there be no orders for the child C to spend time with or communicate with the first respondent father and the second respondent paternal grandmother. However, the third respondent maternal grandmother was ordered to send a brief annual communication to the second respondent paternal grandmother each December, commencing in December 2017, containing photographs and information about the child's educational progress and health. The second respondent was required to notify the maternal grandmother's solicitors of any change of address. All other extant applications were dismissed, and the order for the appointment of an Independent Children’s Lawyer was discharged. The court noted that the parties acknowledged expert evidence suggesting that re-introduction to the paternal grandmother should be deferred until the child is older and more emotionally mature.