Irwin Mitchell Private Wealth Lawyers Succeed In Yvonne Gibney’s Case

Family and divorce law experts at leading national law firm Irwin Mitchell Private Wealth have successfully secured their client Yvonne Gibney a set-aside order for her original divorce settlement from her bigamist ex-husband.

Yvonne Gibney, whose ex-husband Maurice James Gibney is a wealthy oil contractor that remarried before he had divorced Yvonne, sought a fairer deal after finding evidence suggesting he deliberately misled the courts on his finances.

Yvonne Gibney was married to Maurice Gibney for 18 years and they have one child together. Yvonne issued divorce proceedings in 2013, during which she discovered on social media that her husband had married another woman in Oman while he was still married to her despite his denials in court.

After Yvonne filed a police report, Mr Gibney was investigated and found guilty of bigamy. He was given a two year suspended sentence by the courts in October 2014.

Now Yvonne has been given justice for her and her son, as the family court in Liverpool found her ex-husband had falsified documents at the original divorce proceedings to hide the extent of his wealth and his marriage to his new wife.

Yvonne instructed specialist family and divorce lawyers at Irwin Mitchell Private Wealth to present her case. The leading national law firm, which has one of the largest family teams in the country, has previously had success with setting aside divorce settlements with the landmark Sharland and Gohil cases which were successful in the Supreme Court in 2015.

Yvonne’s lawyers fought to obtain information from companies in Oman that Mr Gibney is related to in order to find his true net worth. Mr Gibney is believed to be currently situated in South Korea.

Highly regarded barrister Samantha Hillas of St John’s Buildings was instructed by Irwin Mitchell Private Wealth to successfully fight Yvonne’s case in court.

Yvonne was awarded the marital home plus her legal fees to be covered by her ex-husband.

Yvonne Gibney said: “I am so pleased the court has given me and my son justice. My divorce has been a dark cloud hanging over our lives for the last five years. We just wanted a fair deal, not one based on misinformation and hidden wealth, so that we can finally begin to move on.

“The emotional damage has been truly devastating. A divorce is already stressful enough and leaves you emotionally vulnerable without suspecting your ex-husband of bigamy and having criminal proceedings involved. We just wanted what’s fair.

“I knew Maurice has misled me, my son and both the British and Omani courts so he could get what he wanted. In the real world there are rules, and Maurice has repeatedly shown complete disregard for these. I’m delighted the court finally saw the truth so that my son and I can now start again."

Expert Opinion

“With the landmark cases of Sharland and Gohil, the courts sent a message that dishonesty will not be tolerated. Yvonne’s case was about securing a fair deal and happily, we were able to secure this.

“There was evidence that Yvonne’s ex-husband was earning far more than he disclosed in the original proceedings and doctored his bank statements to hide the reality of his assets and his new life from Yvonne. Because of this Yvonne’s divorce settlement was built on several lies.

“Yvonne and her son have been through a great deal in the last five years since her husband’s bigamy came to light. We are so pleased the courts saw that Mr Gibney has been fundamentally dishonest from the beginning - now Yvonne can rebuild her life based on a fairer divorce settlement and in the knowledge that justice has been delivered.” Lara Tucker - Senior Associate Solicitor

Judgment was delivered on Monday 23^rd April.

For impartial advice from specialist family and divorce lawyers get in touch with Irwin Mitchell today.