NA v MA

JEREMY POSNANSKY QC and GAVIN SMITH (instructed by Messrs U) for the Applicant NICHOLAS MOSTYN QC and JUDE ALLEN (instructed by Messrs Z) for the Respondent Hearing dates: 30th and 31st October, 1st � 3rd and 6th � 10th November 2006 ____________________

This litigation has been hard fought and it is obvious to me that much bitterness has been engendered by the disintegration of this relationship, perhaps because these parties were once so close and enmeshed with each other. The cause of much vituperation has been the Wife's adultery with the Husband's best friend which occurred in the latter stages of the marriage. The Husband, perhaps unsurprisingly, has been unable to forgive the Wife for this betrayal. Nevertheless, I believe that this factor has coloured his view of her entitlement for financial relief under the Law.

I feel that the concentration on this issue (which took at least 2 days of Court time) meant that the parties' advisers began to lose sight of the central issues which are (i) should the agreement be upheld and (ii) if not, what is the level of fair award. I note, for example, that no detailed figures were given in Mr Mostyn's written final submissions: in his, Mr Posnansky referred to and adopted those in his written Opening

The Husband asserts that the Wife's claims should be limited to the terms of a post nuptial agreement that was signed by the Wife on the 9th March 2005 and, as I find, by the Husband on about the 25th April 2005. The relevant terms of that agreement are that the Wife's claim should be limited as follows:-

One of the central issues in this case is whether a post nuptial agreement signed by the Wife on the 9th March 2005 (which limits her claims) should be enforced by this Court. Accordingly, before I consider the facts, I will outline the current legal position in relation to contracts between spouses.