Supreme Court Unanimously Decides in Wife's Favour
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom has today delivered its decision in the case of Prest v Petrodel Ltd & Others, finding that, for the purposes of section 24(1)(a) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, the husband was indeed "entitled" to various properties which are held within a corporate structure and which had formed part of the wife's award at first instance. It is a huge decision, particularly for big money divorce cases, and one which many people may be surprised at following the judgement of Lord Justice Rimer at the Court of Appeal. The judgement and summary press release can be found here and previous discussions on this topic, including on the husbands failure to provide adequate disclosure can be found here and on Chambers Women in Law Blog here.
No doubt this is a decision which will generate a huge amount of debate and is arguably as significant a family law decision as Jones v Kernott (cohabitation) and Radmacher v Granatino (pre-nuptial agreements).
