In a case that has been described as “extraordinarily unusual” a wife has appealed against the refusal of the court to grant her a divorce.
Tini Owens, who has been married to Hugh Owens for 39 years, issued divorce proceedings on the basis of her husband’s unreasonable behaviour. However, her husband denied that he had behaved unreasonably, and at a hearing last year the judge refused the divorce, stating that her allegations were “of the kind to be expected in marriage”.
Mrs Owens has now appealed to the Court of Appeal, her barrister arguing that the judge had failed to make “proper findings of fact”. The Court of Appeal is expected to rule on the case shortly.
The case has led to renewed calls from family lawyers for the introduction of a system of no-fault divorce, whereby it is not necessary for one party to blame the other for the breakdown of the marriage.
Image: The Main Hall, Royal Courts of Justice, by Andrea Vail, licensed under CC BY 2.0.