Wirral law firm celebrate successful defence in landmark paternity fraud case

Jan 28 2009 by Sue McCann, Bromborough and Bebington News

A WIRRAL law firm is celebrating after defeating a landmark paternity fraud case in the Court of Appeal.

Prenton-based Beech Jones De Lloyd represented Allen Mottram, a father who was sued for fraud and deceit.

Claimant Mark Webb said he was duped into thinking he was the biological father of Elspeth Chapman, whom he had raised for 17 years, and wanted compensation.

Mr Webb’s former wife, Lydia Chapman, was accused of concealing her suspicions about the true identity of her daughter. She conceived Elspeth after an affair with Mr Mottram in 1984.

But Elspeth, now a 22-year-old English teacher, read about her mother’s secret while reading one of her diary entries.

Since Mr Webb was confronted by Elspeth about her true father’s identity, he has pursued Mr Mottram and his ex-wife for compensation.

Paul Dumbleton, senior partner at Beech Jones De Lloyd, said his client could have been stung for £192,000, which recent research suggests is the cost of bringing up a child.

Mr Dumbleton continued: “We won the case because of all the hard work and detailed preparation we did.

“But, at the end of the day, it’s all about the client, who’s had a successful outcome, which we’re delighted about.”

Mr Dumbleton and counsel Peter Prescott QC convinced three appeal judges to dismiss the case during the five-day hearing in Bournemouth last week.

They said Mr Mottram could not be sued because he neither knew he was Elspeth’s father, nor did he try to convince Mr Webb that he was the girl’s true father.

The legal team also hired a private detective to try to establish that Mr Webb may have suspected he was not the girl’s father, but did not try to find out the truth.

Mr Dumbleton continued: “This was a civil fraud case and as such the burden of proof is higher than in normal cases.”

The team hired stenographers to record word-for-word transcripts of the case. Each evening they retired and read through the day’s proceedings to prepare for cross-examination.

He added: “The repercussions of this case may send a shiver down the spine of many husbands, wives and partners throughout the country. In this case, it was clear that our client had not deceived the child’s father.”