Can anyone help?

Three years ago a wiki lady had a final hearing, judgment followed, the guy refused to pay the spousal maintenance.

The guy is a high earner and owns property and land.

After a year it went back to court for enforcement, another judge ordered him to pay, attachment of earnings was ordered, the protected earnings level was set at his stated needs, this was a mistake by the officer of court, the judge agreed it was a mistake but said make a new application which would take six months.

Time went by and an application was made with magistrates court so the delay would only be three months, the magistrates again ordered it payed, even after hearing the guys application to vary.

He refused again, so again it was listed with magistrates more months to wait, this time it was a summons, days before the third enforcement the guy applies to vary yet again with county court, so the magistrates hearing is canceled, six more months to wait, the court say because the man acts in person they must hear the application to vary.

So after three years this man has ignored every part of the judgment, has paid little or no maintenance, and no order for costs, the woman's legal aid bill is huge and ever growing, she now faces repossession and after the legal aid bill is payed she will be left with nothing at all.

Can you just play the system forever?, he is doing this in the hope the wiki lady will give up, and after three years she more or less has.

The guy earns ten times her, owns property and land, the spousal maintenance is less than 10% of his net income.

Can anyone offer any help, any ideas at all?.

Hi Dukey,

This is abuse of a most insidious kind.

Has the lady raised the matter with her MP and any lobbying organisations dealing with Human Rights?

I can think of no legal quick fix short of getting the matter raised in the House of Commons by an MP and also starting an e-Petition to the office of the Prime Minister.

I hope this man chokes on his own deceit.

YA

Hello Young again.

This wiki lady has no fight left, she has children to look after, bills to pay a mortgage she can`t hope to pay and has been failed at every stage by the legal system for the last three years.

From the start she said he would get away with doing nothing court order and so far she is right.

I just hope someone somewhere has a solution i don`t know of, at this rate this woman and her kids will be on the street before it gets back to court yet again.

Thank your for your suggestion Sir i will pass it on.

Dukey,

Name and Shame? There may be a periodical that would pay.

Perhaps a newspaper would be interested in reporting the facts of the case - no opinions as to the morality, just the facts. Unless of course, like Robert Maxwell he has the money to lie and to pervert the course of justice in which case Private Eye would be most interested.

YA

Sadly it isn't uncommon for someone to apply to vary maintenance in response to an application for enforcement. In the interests of justice the court has to hear the application but he can't play the system forever and I would encourage the wife to hang on in there.

Young again,

I would do as you suggest, the problem is the man concerned has no shame and even though he is a prominent civil servant he has no respect for court what so ever, he said from the start his wife and kids would get nothing, and so far that is exactly what they have, well apart fro a huge legal aid bill.

Fiona

Thank you for the reply i was hoping you would.

I suppose where i am stumped is that he did apply to vary at the last enforcement hearing, the application was dismissed and he was ordered to pay as per the original judgment, he earns loads, so he waits months, just before the third hearing he applies to vary with county court, do court county or magistrates at some point say well its been enforced x number of times he has applied to vary every time enough is enough.

I know application can be stayed to prevent people wasting courts time, but at what point will this happen.

Assuming he does not go to prison what`s to stop him not paying after the third enforcement in six months and just applying to vary again?.

Any idea?.

Can any of the solicitors offer an opinion?.