EF (No. 2) (Welfare) (Non-Molestation Order) (Costs), Re

Facts

The applicant, Dr TC, a medical doctor, and the respondent, WF, met in April 2023 and began a turbulent relationship marked by periods of separation and reconciliation. Their daughter EF was born in November 2024. The parents had effectively separated before the birth, but the definitive end came after an incident on 22 January 2025, when the father violently forced open the locked door of a bedroom in which the mother had taken refuge with EF. EF has since remained in her mother's care and has not spent time with her father. The father issued applications for a child arrangements order, a declaration of parentage and parental responsibility on 14 April 2025; the mother responded with allegations of domestic abuse. Following a finding of fact hearing, the court found in Re. EF (No.1) (Finding of Fact Hearing) [2025] EWFC 533 (B) that the father had subjected the mother to physical, emotional and verbal abuse, controlling and coercive behaviour, post-separation harassment, and had used the proceedings themselves to attack and humiliate her. The father's application to the High Court for permission to appeal those findings was refused as totally without merit. Cafcass Cymru opposed direct contact and parental responsibility. The mother issued an application for a non-molestation order and sought her costs.