The High Court has refused to order discovery of further financial and trust-related documents in a judicial separation case and declined the applicant’s request to send the proceedings to the Circuit Court.
Mr Justice Max Barrett delivered the judgment on 12 May 2022. The respondent sought documents concerning the applicant’s finances, companies, properties, tax and a trust established under his late mother’s will. The applicant had already supplied various financial records and had undertaken to provide some further documents when they became available.
The judge found that the requested correspondence with the trust’s trustees was not relevant to the issues before the court. The trust distribution was due to take place later that year, and the applicant had said he did not know what he was likely to receive, although he hoped to receive particular property. The court was told there was no meaningful prospect of him obtaining more precise information from the trustees.
Other requests were refused for reasons including that they had not been raised before the motion, were not shown to be relevant, necessary and proportionate, or concerned information unavailable to the applicant. The judge noted that some requested tax and employment documents had already been provided or were due to be supplied. No discovery order was made. He said he assumed an undertaking to provide a further document would be given if needed, but did not specify its terms in the judgment.
The applicant argued the case should be heard in the Circuit Court because the assets were within that court’s jurisdiction and costs would be lower. The judge accepted that the Circuit Court could hear the case, but declined to remit it. He said the proceedings could be brought on more quickly in the High Court, which he considered the more sensible course given the respondent’s limited resources and need for money to start flowing. He also rejected the respondent’s arguments that complex financial issues or delay by the applicant justified keeping the case in the High Court.
The ruling concerned only the discovery and remittal applications. It did not decide the substantive issues in the separation proceedings.