Wife who tried to reverse divorce loses damages bid
A WIFE who tried to reverse her divorce after her husband’s untimely death has lost a High Court bid for compensation, because they were no longer having sex.
A High Court judge said the loss of intimacy in the marriage was among the reasons to conclude that Cathryn Craven, 50, from Coventry, was unlikely to reconcile with her husband had he not been killed.
Mrs Craven brought a claim for £676,985 against driver Terry Davies, who hit her husband, Jayson, with a car in June 2014 while travelling at 86mph in a 40mph zone. He was later found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving and jailed for four years.
At the time of Mr Craven’s death, he and his wife were in a “cooling-off period” between decree nisi pronouncement and decree absolute.
After a relationship of nearly 30 years, they separated in January 2014 after Mr Craven began an affair, and Mrs Craven petitioned for divorce.
Her lawyers argued that had he not been killed, her anger was likely to have been eased by the passage of time because she loved him deeply and her desire for divorce would have lessened to the point of extinction by realisation of the financial consequences.
In a ruling made public yesterday, Judge Freedman said that the whole family was devastated by Mr Craven’s untimely death. However, although Mrs Craven still loved him, it was clear that she no longer felt able or wanted to live in the same household.
The judge said: “I gain the impression that there had been no physical intimacy for a considerable period of time prior to the separation. This, of course, had a very negative impact on the deceased, who felt unwanted and unloved. This inevitably gave rise to further conflict.”
Mrs Craven, who has three children, received damages of £101,514, based on what she would have received in maintenance payments.