MG v AG (Appeal Out of Time: Relief from Sanctions) [2020] EWFC B49
Judgment before Mr Recorder Salter [read here]. An application by the ex-husband for permission to appeal out of time against an order for him to pay a lump sum of £3 Million, as well as monthly payments of £4,750 to his wife. He argued that he could not afford the terms of the order owing to the fact that the judge had merely taken half the value of his shareholdings in two private companies and provided no evidence-based justification as to how he could raise the lump sum.
The wife argued that the appeal was not only out of time, but the evidence presented at trial had indicated that the husband had planned to sell his business interests, rather than to rely on dividends to satisfy the lump sum.
Mr Recorder Salter carried out an extensive review of the law and found that due to the fact the delay in this instance was so “serious and lacking any good explanation” against a background of unexplained intentional delay, that he had no hesitation in denying relief from the sanctions. In turn, the application for permission to appeal was also dismissed.