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Divorcee can't claim more from millionaire ex-hubby, judge rules
A JUDGE has ruled a West Yorkshire woman cannot claim maintenance more after her ex-husband's shares quadrupled in value, making him a millionaire.
Lord Justice Thorpe, who also ruled a recession-hit tycoon could not cut his 9.5 million divorce settlement, said Martin and Kim Walkden had agreed a compromise but he was handing down his judgment only because the issues in the case "were of some general importance".
The wife had received a cash settlement totalling 482,000, mainly based on the 800,000 value placed on the husband's company.
But two months later, in October 2007, he received 1,758,199 when his timber products company Triesse was valued at 3.8 million in a takeover deal.
His former wife, who also received maintenance of 1,100 a month, was given permission at York County Court to seek a re-negotiation of the original settlement.
Mr Walkden, 47, won at the Court of Appeal after arguing his case was no different from tycoon Brian Myerson's, and his former wife should not get more.
Lord Justice Wall said Mrs Walkden, of Wetherby and also 47, had reached an agreement with her former husband whereby her maintenance payments were converted to a capital sum and the couple had now achieved a clean break.
The judge said Mr Walkden's lawyer, Nicholas Francis QC, "was entitled to describe this case as the flipside of the decision of this court in Myerson v Myerson". In that case, heard in April, it was ruled that Mr Myerson had no right to use the credit crunch as an excuse to renegotiate his multimillion-pound divorce settlement.
Mr Francis told the judges that Mr Myerson's was a case where the value of the shares collapsed, but this time the share value had substantially increased.
He said there should be no difference in the treatment of the two cases and the judge who allowed the wife permission to seek a re-negotiation had "fallen into error" in saying the share sale at a high price was an event that undermined the original agreement.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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