SMD v LMD [2014] EWHC 302 (Fam), [2014] All ER (D) 282 (Mar)
In determining a contact application the paramount consideration was the welfare best interests of the child. The starting point was that contact with a non-residential parent was generally in the best interests of a child. Any restriction on contact with a child but, especially, an order that there be no contact, direct or indirect, might only be justified on the basis of the most cogent and compelling evidence. When considering making an order for no contact; such an order should only be made where the court was satisfied that there was a serious risk of harm if contact were to be ordered.
Orders pursuant to s 91(14) of the Children Act 1989 should be made with great care and sparingly. They might be made in the absence of a past history of unreasonable applications if there was clear evidence that the welfare of the child so required. In such a case the court had to be satisfied that the facts of the case went beyond those commonly encountered of parental animosity and that there was
