George C. Missick Wins Major Divorce Case in The Turks And Caicos Supreme Court Of Action

After a contentious battle, Parriswhittaker’s George C. Missick recently helped our client win a major victory in The Supreme Court Of Action in The Turks and Caicos Islands No. D 3/21.

In the matter of DT v CG, The Hon. Mr. Justice B. St. Michael Hylton QC (Ag) ruled that “It would be unreasonable to expect the petitioner to continue in a marriage with a spouse in all the circumstances.”

“I find given the characters and personality of the petitioner, including his non-argumentative personality and his existing health conditions, that there is sufficient proof of behavior on the part of the respondent, such that expectation of continued life together would be unreasonable.”

In this case, we contended that:

• For the greater part of their marriage, the parties had lived as “perfect strangers” and hadn’t spoken since September 2021.
• The respondent only gave unilateral instructions, while ignoring any concerns, or suggestions the petitioner made with regard to the children and major decisions such as repairs to the house.
• The marriage has left the petitioner feeling marginalized and inferior, which negatively impacted:
  • His sleep patterns
  • His general health
  • His focus and his energy at work and in his daily life
• Due to “the breakdown of the marriage,” he has moved on from the respondent and has started an intimate relationship with another woman.

The respondent denied the allegations that the marriage had broken down irrevocably. Her team also argued that the petitioner’s behavior was unreasonable and that she was solely responsible for the children. Counsel for the respondent also contended that the divorce would cause the respondent financial hardship.

The Decision:

The Hon. Mr. Justice B. St. Michael Hylton QC (Ag) stated that, “having heard and seen the parties under cross-examination, I find that the respondent failed to communicate both before and after the petitioner left home. I accept the petitioner’s evidence in relation to the failures to communicate while they shared a household and that his subjective reaction was as he claimed.”

The Hon. Mr. Justice B. St. Michael Hylton also found that: 

• “It would be unreasonable to expect the petitioner to continue in a marriage with a spouse in all the circumstances.”

• “There is sufficient evidence that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. Despite living apart for almost two years neither party has made any effort to rescue the marriage. The petitioner has no interest in rescuing it and he is seeing someone else.”

• “To satisfy section 5 (2)(b), the Court must ask whether given the respondent’s actions the petitioner could reasonably be expected to continue to live with them, taking into account all of the circumstances and the characters and personalities of the parties..”

• The Court must be fair to both parties, expecting of them “neither heroic virtue nor selfless abnegation, keeping in mind that it is the subjective reaction of the petition to the respondent’s conduct which must be taken into account, and the behavior need not be “grave or weighty.”

• Section 5(2)(b) does not require a respondent’s behavior to be “unreasonable” , but that the expectation of continued life together should be unreasonable.

• “As to the respondent’s submission that the divorce would cause her financial hardship, I reject this argument.”

• “I am satisfied that the current arrangements for the relevant child are satisfactory.”

After a prolonged legal battle and years of unhappiness, our client is now free to close this chapter of his life.

“I am particularly pleased with this ruling because I know that our client has been through a lot of pain. This was a long litigation process, but he never gave up. It was important for him to know that we would never give up either.”

“We believe that healing and wholeness after divorce are possible, but not until the actual divorce is finalized. Now, our client can pursue his own happiness and start building the whole life he’s longed for.”