Court finds lawyer and client subjected to “deeply offensive, homophobic, and sexist” comments
A family lawyer has been praised by a judge after working in what was found to be abusive conditions from a litigant.
The litigant was a father seeking access to his children, however, the lawyer in question, Nina Skilton, received abusive comments from the father. She was representing the children’s guardian, David Faulkner. The situation was exacerbated by the father opening a total of 13 applications in relation to the matter.
Judge Webb found the father’s repeated applications to be a abusive which should not have been allowed to have continued. The judge also found the client to be “deeply offensive, homophobic, and sexist” as he stated:
“What this case illustrates is the potential abuse created by repeated applications within one set of proceedings. It is regrettable that this was not dealt with earlier as a standalone issue.
Family Court judges are exceptionally busy and interlocutory applications are often referred to them either electronically or on paper during days with full lists, at times without the substantive file. However, it is essential that patterns of repeated litigation activity are identified and if appropriately dealt with as an interim issue in order to avoid the experience that DL has gone through in this case.”
Both Skilton and Faulkner were found to have received threats and abuse from the father including comments such as “you dumb blonde”, “corrupt”, and “completely incompetent”.
The court was told that the father suffered from a delusional disorder which caused him to become obsessed with litigation. The father was given an extended civil restraint order for an additional five years after insulting the judge by using a homophobic slur.
The judge concluded that:
“David Faulkner and Nina Skilton have been subject to intense, unpleasant, personal abuse from [the father]. None of it justified in any manner. They have performed their obligations to the children in an exemplary manner.”
