Litigation can be long and bitter, but it is the prime objective of the justice system to eventually bring it to a satisfactory end. In a case on point, the High Court came to the aid of a husband in drawing a line under his divorce.

The case concerned a middle-aged couple who were self-employed in the IT world, each of them earning enough to support themselves. The wife had a child from a previous relationship who was treated as a child of the family. In dividing the marital assets between them post-separation, a family judge awarded the wife £478,000, approximately 49 per cent of the total.

After the judge handed down her judgment, but before an order was perfected giving effect to it, the wife sought to present fresh evidence that the proposed award would not meet her and her child’s reasonable housing needs. The judge was persuaded to adjourn the matter with a view to hearing further argument.

In upholding the husband’s appeal against that ruling, the Court emphasised the importance of finality in litigation. The adjournment application was a spurious attempt by a disappointed litigant to get the judge to change her mind immediately after she had given judgment. She should not have succumbed and the decision to grant an adjournment was plainly wrong. The judge was directed to make a final order reflecting the terms of her original judgment.