Cohabiting rights — why I’m taking my case all the way to the Supreme Court
Why I decided to go to the Supreme Court and how it has affected my financial situation
Denise Brewster is currently raising funds on CrowdJustice for her Supreme Court fees for a case that will have big implications for cohabiting rights
How Lenny’s death has affected my financial situation
CrowdJustice asked Denise how the death of her long-term partner (to whom she was engaged) affected her financial situation.
The Supreme Court fees are £5,280, but Denise is pressing on so that she can make difference for others too. She writes here about the experience of taking her case all the way to the Supreme Court.
I won the first case, but then the Government appealed
I won the first hearing, but then N.I.L.G.O.S. (Northern Ireland local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee) and the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland appealed. That meant it was me up against them in the appeal.
What it felt like for me in the appeal
During the appeal court hearing there were three Judges.
I thought the first Judge was in my favour, I felt Judge 2 was totally against me, and the third Judge was sitting on the fence, no-one knew what way he was going to decide, it could have gone either way.
There was a lot of tension in the courtroom that day.
The local District Attorney made an appearance to support the opposition side. The opposition had a team of solicitors running in and out on their phones, transporting information to their Barristers. I thought to myself my goodness this is intense; here I am on my own, fighting all of them. I felt it was me against the big bully.
In the summary of the Judge’s findings, the first Judge went in my favour, the second went against me, and the third, no-one knew what he was going to decide, it could have gone either way. In the end he went against me, and I lost on a 2–1 verdict. I felt so let down and deeply disappointed by these findings.
After the appeal hearing
I came out of the courtroom and I thanked my Solicitor and told him to send thanks to the team back in Coleraine, and I thanked my Barrister also, who was called David Schofield and who had done an excellent job in that courtroom. I said I will move on from this, but at least I have tried, I’ve done my best for what Lenny wanted, but now I will dust myself down and move on.
I thought to myself nothing in your life will be as hard as Lenny’s death. I asked my Solicitor to have my bill made up. Although the judge’s did protect my costs [so that Denise wasn’t obliged to pay the other side’s costs], I knew I still had to pay for my own Solicitor and my Barrister’s work to date, and I knew I would now have to re-mortgage what was our home to pay for this, but I knew I was true to myself, and I tried my best for what Lenny wanted.
I didn’t want to go any further
Some time went on, then I received a phone call from my Solicitor, who said a law firm in London, Deighton Pierce Glynn, had been in contact with him. They had informed him that after I had won the first case, the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) in England, Scotland and Wales decided to look at their policies and they decided that the form at the heart of my case should not be in place, and they were now in the process of taking it out of their system. I felt this was so very unfair, that maybe if the third Judge knew this information at that time, he might have gone in my favour.
My Solicitor told me, this law firm in London have said that if you get permission to take your case to the Supreme Court, then they would be prepared to take it on. I said I didn’t want to go any further, as I’ve lost enough already. I lost Lenny; I’ve lost this case, and I don’t want to lose my house and my mind in the process.
We talked about it for some time, but then I felt I needed time to think about it. I went to my place of worship that Saturday evening, and the finishing part of the sermon was about, to always stand up for what is right at all costs, and to ask God to help you, and pray for direction, keep your faith and your trust in God, and so that’s what I did. I knew there would be more costs involved to get to the next stage, on top of the other costs that I had not yet received, and money was already tight. I knew I may not get into the Supreme Court, and I knew I may not get my costs protected, but with a deep breath and a giant leap of faith I went for it.
The Supreme Court case
And now the Supreme Court have accepted to hear this case.
At times the magnitude and the unfairness of it all can be very overwhelming, but I always try to look at a positive in any negative, so maybe through all this process it has inadvertently has helped a lot of other people. Most definitely it has helped those members from L.G.P.S. in England, Scotland and Wales whose partners, who have sadly passed away, but at least their partners and children will now receive what without a doubt their loved one would have wanted. Yes the road for them will still be rough, but in some way it will help them to do things that will certainly soften that road.
Read more about, and support Denise’s case, here.
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