13 March 2025

DF v YB [2025] EWFC 46 (B): A £1.3 Million Litigation Bill and Lessons on Efficiency, Conduct, and Transparency

At first glance, DF v YB [2025] EWFC 46 (B) appears to be a straightforward financial remedy case—a 19-year marriage, an agreed equal division of assets, and no significant conduct arguments. But beneath the surface, this case highlights several key issues for family law practitioners:

  • The staggering cost of litigation—a combined £1.3 million in legal fees.
  • The consequences of inefficient case management, particularly non-compliance with the Efficiency Statement.
  • The continued judicial push for greater transparency, with the judgment being published despite objections.
  1. The £1.3 Million Legal Bill: A Case That Should Have Settled Earlier

The headline figure? £1.3 million spent on legal fees.

  • The wife (W) spent £566,289 on the financial remedy proceedings and an additional £220,148 on private law children proceedings.
  • The husband (H) spent £378,611 on the financial remedy case and £115,703 on the children proceedings.

This raises an important question: Why did a case with no major disputes over legal principles end up costing so much?

Both parties agreed from the outset that:
The assets should be divided equally.
There was no need for a maintenance claim—it would be a clean break case.
The assets were sufficient to meet both parties’ needs.

The disagreement? How to calculate the final asset pool and who should pay whom.

  1. The Efficiency Statement Breach: Non-Compliance and the Court’s Frustration

The judgment makes clear that the parties failed to properly comply with the Efficiency Statement (11 January 2022), particularly regarding the Chronology.

  • The applicant (W) failed to produce a neutral composite Chronology in line with paragraph 21(c) of the Efficiency Statement.
  • Instead, the court was presented with two competing versions, which wasted time and resources.
  • Recorder Allen KC explicitly referenced Peel J’s warning in GA v EL [2024] that such breaches are "wholly unacceptable."

Why does this matter? Because courts are increasingly focused on efficient case management. Non-compliance with procedural rules can lead to judicial criticism, wasted costs, and delays.

  1. Conduct: When Bad Behaviour Doesn’t Affect the Award

W presented evidence that H had engaged in abusive and offensive conduct post-separation, including sending misogynistic and threatening messages.

  • H’s own barrister admitted his behaviour was “wholly unacceptable.”
  • W’s team tried to use this to frame the case, even though they never formally pleaded conduct as a factor.

But did it impact the financial award? No.

The court ruled that bad behaviour alone is not enough to adjust the financial split unless:
It is of a "highly exceptional nature" (N v J [2024] EWFC 184).
There is an identifiable financial consequence (Tsvetkov v Khayrova [2024] 1 FLR 937).

Since W could not prove a financial link, the court ignored H’s misconduct in the final asset division.

  1. Transparency: Why This Judgment Was Published Despite Objections

H objected to publication, arguing that:
There were no novel legal points in the judgment.
There was no wider public interest in the case.
The children’s privacy could be affected.

W did not oppose publication, provided that the judgment was fully anonymised.

The Court’s Decision: Publish It.

Recorder Allen KC applied the balancing test from Re S (A Child) [2005] 1 AC 593, weighing:

The public interest in open justice (ECHR Article 10).

The privacy rights of the family (ECHR Article 8).

Ultimately, the court ruled that:

  • There is a presumption in favour of publication, even where no legal precedent is set.
  • Public accountability matters in financial remedy cases, particularly where litigation conduct is an issue.
  • The judgment should be fully anonymised, but the public has a right to see how financial disputes are resolved.

This aligns with the 2024 Transparency Practice Guidance, which encourages greater publication of financial remedy judgments.

  1. Final Financial Outcome: The Court’s Decision

After lengthy disputes over asset valuation, tax liabilities, and loan repayments, the court ruled:

  • H to pay W a lump sum of £510,000 (far lower than her £780,000 claim but higher than his £60,000 offer).
  • The couple’s £13.8 million in assets to be split equally.
  • A contested loan to be subject to “Wells sharing”, meaning W would get a share only if it was repaid.
  • H’s tax liabilities were NOT deducted from the asset pool, as the court was unconvinced he would actually pay them.
  • Both parents to contribute £200,000 each to the children’s education fund.
  • Child maintenance of £7,500 per year per child, replacing a previous CMS order.

Final Thoughts: A Case Study in High-Conflict Divorce Litigation

At its core, DF v YB [2025] EWFC 46 (B) is a cautionary tale about the cost of financial disputes, inefficiency in litigation, and the limits of conduct arguments.

For family lawyers, the key lessons are:

  • Early settlement is crucial—protracted disputes over asset valuation can be ruinously expensive.
  • Procedural compliance matters—courts expect efficiency, and failure to comply can waste costs and time.
  • Conduct rarely affects financial awards—without a financial impact, even extreme behaviour may be ignored.
  • Transparency is here to stay—clients must expect their financial disputes to be public, unless they have strong reasons to argue otherwise.

With £1.3 million spent in legal fees, this case proves that even “straightforward” financial disputes can become complex, high-stakes battles. Practitioners should take note—and advise their clients accordingly.

11 March 2025

Costs, Anonymity, and Open Justice in Family Law: Lessons from Culligan v Culligan [2025] EWFC 26

The follow-up decision in Culligan v Culligan [2025] EWFC 26 deals with two contentious post-judgment issues: who should pay the costs of the financial remedy proceedings and whether the judgment should be anonymised. With £1.3 million in legal fees, disputed disclosure, and an argument over the principle of open justice, the case is a valuable study in how courts approach litigation misconduct and the growing shift away from anonymisation in family proceedings.

For family law practitioners, this decision serves as a clear warning about the risks of aggressive litigation tactics and a reminder that financial remedy judgments are not guaranteed anonymity.

The Costs Battle: Who Pays for the Litigation?

The wife sought a costs order against the husband, citing his poor litigation conduct, particularly:

  • Repeated disclosure failures (including the non-disclosure of Bitcoin assets and tax liabilities).
  • Delays in responding to court orders and failing to engage with the disclosure process.
  • Refusal to negotiate reasonably, including rejecting mediation attempts.

The husband, however, fought back, claiming he was not the only one guilty of litigation misconduct. He argued that:

  • The wife had also failed to disclose key financial arrangements, particularly regarding the sale of her football club and consultancy agreement.
  • She had structured financial transactions in a way that hid assets, misrepresenting £3 million as post-separation income rather than part of the settlement.
  • She pursued baseless conduct allegations that added to the length and cost of the trial.

The Court’s Approach: Misconduct Cuts Both Ways

Mr Justice MacDonald ruled that both parties were at fault, but the wife’s litigation misconduct was more significant. The court ordered her to pay £84,540 towards the husband’s legal costs, finding that:

🔹 Her financial structuring artificially reduced the settlement pot (particularly regarding her football club sale).
🔹 She exaggerated claims of coercive control and financial misconduct, which the court found had no merit.
🔹 Her conduct made settlement harder to achieve, prolonging litigation unnecessarily.

🔹 However, the judge also acknowledged that the husband had failed to comply with disclosure requirements, leading to additional costs—but these were deemed delays rather than deliberate concealment.

The Anonymity Debate: Open Justice Wins

The wife sought anonymisation of the judgment, arguing that:

  • The case was heard in private, and there was no significant public interest in revealing the parties' names.
  • The judgment included details of financial and business dealings, which should remain confidential.
  • Publication would cause unnecessary reputational harm.

The husband opposed anonymisation, arguing that:

  • The general rule is open justice—family law litigants are not entitled to special treatment.
  • The wife’s conduct findings should be public, as the case involved significant misrepresentation of assets.
  • The financial details were not commercially sensitive, as key business transactions had already been completed.

The Court’s Decision: No Anonymisation

Mr Justice MacDonald ruled that the judgment should be published in full, without anonymisation, applying the principles from Xanthopoulos v Rakshina [2022] EWFC 30 and Re PP (A Child) [2023] EWHC 330 (Fam).

  • The default position is open justice—litigants are not automatically entitled to anonymity.
  • There was a legitimate public interest in this case, particularly due to the findings on litigation conduct and financial structuring.
  • The wife’s embarrassment was not a sufficient reason to override the principle of open justice.

Practical Lessons for Family Law Practitioners

  1. Costs Orders Are Becoming More Common in Financial Remedy Cases
  • While the general rule in FPR 2010 r.28.3 is no costs orders, courts are increasingly penalising litigation misconduct.
  • Parties must engage reasonably with disclosure and negotiation—or risk costs penalties.
  1. Anonymisation Is No Longer the Norm
  • Family lawyers should warn clients that judgments may be published with full names.
  • If anonymity is sought, it must be justified with clear evidence of harm (not just reputational concerns).
  1. Non-Disclosure and Creative Financial Arrangements Will Be Scrutinised
  • Courts are willing to look beyond surface-level transactions to determine whether assets are being hidden or misrepresented.
  • Clients should be advised to be fully transparent, as delayed or incomplete disclosure can result in adverse costs orders.

Final Thoughts: The Shift Towards Accountability in Family Law

Culligan v Culligan [2025] EWFC 26 reinforces a shift towards greater accountability in financial remedy proceedings. Courts are:

  1. More willing to make costs orders where one party unreasonably prolongs litigation.
  2. Less inclined to grant anonymity, ensuring that bad litigation conduct is exposed.
  3. Taking a robust approach to non-disclosure, scrutinising creative financial structuring.

For family law practitioners, this case is a clear signal that the courts expect transparency, cooperation, and reasonable litigation conduct. If a client drags out proceedings, makes exaggerated allegations, or misrepresents financial information, they risk both financial penalties and public exposure.

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