WILSON & STINSON

In *Wilson & Stinson*, heard before Cronin J, the husband sought to annul his marriage to the wife on the grounds that her previous husband was still alive at the time of their marriage. The wife contended that she was a widow at the time of her marriage to the applicant.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the evidence, assessed on the balance of probabilities, established that the wife's former husband was deceased at the time of her marriage to the applicant, thereby rendering her free to marry. The court was also required to consider an application for costs made by the respondent wife.

Cronin J found that the evidence presented satisfied the balance of probabilities test, establishing that the wife's former husband had indeed died prior to her marriage to the applicant. Consequently, the husband's application for nullity was dismissed. The court also refused the wife's application for costs, finding no justifying circumstances.

The court ordered that the husband's application filed on 29 December 2011 be dismissed, and the wife's response filed on 4 April 2012 also be dismissed. The wife's application for divorce, filed on 25 May 2011, was listed for final hearing upon the delivery of these orders.