Gohil v Gohil

Summary

Michaelmas Term
[2015] UKSC 61
On appeal from: [2014] EWCA Civ 274

JUDGMENT

Gohil (Appellant) v Gohil (Respondent)

before

Lord Neuberger, President
Lady Hale, Deputy President
Lord Clarke
Lord Wilson
Lord Sumption
Lord Reed
Lord Hodge

JUDGMENT GIVEN ON

Heard on 8, 9 and 10 June 2015

Appellant (Gohil)
Sally Harrison QC
Samantha Hillas
(Instructed by Irwin Mitchell LLP)

Respondent (Gohil)
James Turner QC
George Gordon
(Instructed by Duncan Lewis Solicitors)

LORD WILSON: (with whom Lord Neuberger, Lady Hale, Lord Clarke, Lord Sumption, Lord Reed and Lord Hodge agree)

Question

Do the principles referable to the admissibility of fresh evidence on appeal, as propounded in the decision of the Court of Appeal in Ladd v Marshall [1954] 1 WLR 1489, have any relevance to the determination of a spouse's application to set aside a financial order in divorce proceedings on the ground of a fraudulent non-disclosure of resources on the part of the other spouse? The trial judge cast his judgment on two alternative grounds and in his analysis of one ground he identified a particular relevance for the principles propounded in the Ladd case. It is now accepted that, in so holding, he was wrong and that the Court of Appeal was right so to declare. But, when so declaring, the Court of Appeal purported to identify a different relevance for the principles propounded in the Ladd case to the determination of an application to set aside. The main point of general importance which generates this further appeal is whether the Court of Appeal was right to hold that those principles have any relevance to such a determination.

Introduction

Mrs Gohil (whom I will call "the wife" notwithstanding that she was divorced from Mr Gohil, "the husband", in 2004) appeals against an order of the Court of Appeal dated 13 March 2014. By a judgment delivered by McFarlane LJ, with which Arden and Pitchford LJJ agreed, the Court of Appeal then explained its decision to set aside an order made by Moylan J on 25 September 2012, [2012] EWHC 2897 (Fam); the judgments of the Court of Appeal are numbered [2014] EWCA Civ 274 and it is clear that a decision was made to report them at the highest level of authority, namely as Gohil v Gohil (No 2) [2015] Fam 89. The order of Moylan J had been to set aside part of a financial order which, by consent, Baron J had made against the husband in favour of the wife on 30 April 2004, namely the part by which she had dismissed all the wife's remaining claims against him for capital provision. Moylan J had proceeded to order that her claims be listed for further directions to be given in aid of their ultimate determination. The effect of the order of the Court of Appeal was therefore to prevent the wife from asking the court to revisit the level of capital provision made by the husband for her under the order dated…