June Venters KC secures a rare and substantial costs order under the Children Act
8th August 2025
3PB family law silk June Venters KC, appearing for the father in the newly-published case of C v S [2025] EWFC 254, secured a rare and substantial costs order under the Children Act (CPR Part 44 does not strictly apply in such proceedings).
The long-running dispute involved the mother seeking a defined contact order while levelling unsubstantiated allegations against the father. The case spanned over a decade, with the father previously being granted care of the children and the mother ordered to pay £37,000 due to her unreasonable conduct.
The new judgment addressed whether the father should be awarded further costs and what proportion would be fair. The court highlighted the mother’s misleading statements, her refusal to engage in ADR and her failure to accept prior rulings, all of which prolonged litigation and increased the father’s legal expenses.
Though Children Act cases rarely attract costs orders, the court found the mother's conduct exceptional. The judge said that there "should exceptionally be granted a costs order due to the extent of the unreasonableness of the mother’s overall conduct; the proportion of costs that father should be awarded is 50 per cent, being reduced from the amount claimed by 30 per cent due to the extent M succeeded in the case; a further 20 per cent because of the mother's ongoing requirement to pay two-thirds of the contact supervision costs and her psychological make-up. The figure from which 50 per cent should be calculated must exclude the costs of the mother’s legal representation at any hearing where no order for costs was made. "
This judgment provides a clear message to those who enter the court arena: If your allegations are false, if your behaviour is unreasonable and if you prolong litigation unnecessarily, you could be held accountable and incur substantial costs not only for yourself but in having to meet the costs of your opponent, providing hope for those on the receiving end of such allegations.
The full judgment can be read here.
If you wish to contact June, please email her at [email protected]. To instruct June - or see about her availability - please email her clerks Ian Charlton or Rob Leonard on [email protected] or [email protected] or call either of them on 0330 332 0773.
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