amy winehouseWinehouse’s father, Mitch Winehouse, has been ordered to pay almost £1 million to two of the late singer’s close friends after losing a High Court claim over an auction of her personal belongings.The ruling comes after Winehouse launched unsuccessful legal proceedings against Naomi Parry and Catriona Gourlay, whom he accused of profiting from the sale of dozens of Amy Winehouse’s personal items at auctions in the United States in 2021 and 2023, according to the Press Association.Winehouse claimed the women “deliberately concealed” the deal. However, the High Court rejected his claim earlier this year, with Judge Clark finding he had “always known” of the intended auction and only later attempted to extract money from the women in what the judge described as an “invasive and unpleasant manner”.
Judge criticizes Mickey Winehouse’s behavior
In his judgment delivered on Wednesday, Judge Clark was scathing about Winehouse’s conduct throughout the proceedings.“Plaintiffs chose to raise inherently weak claims, pursue them aggressively and ruthlessly to the end, and make serious and unfounded accusations against the Defendants, seriously damaging their reputations, career prospects, financial security and health,” the judge said.The court noted that Naomi Parry’s legal costs as of April were estimated at £715,361, while Catriona Gourlay’s legal costs were £487,132.Judge Clark ordered Winehouse to pay £569,330 to Parry and £394,521 to Gurley within the next two weeks.
Indemnity-Based Legal Fees
Winehouse was also ordered to pay the women’s legal costs on a compensatory basis, a ruling that typically allows the winning party to recover a greater proportion of legal costs, according to the Press Association. Such orders are usually reserved for situations where a party’s behavior is particularly unreasonable.The judge further said that Winehouse “deliberately turned this case into a massive and expensive lawsuit designed to exert commercial pressure on the defendants to settle on its terms.”She added, “The fact that he deliberately did this to two young women who had loyally supported Amy, him and his family and who had demonstrated honesty and integrity over many years makes his unreasonable behavior particularly serious.”The ruling ends Winehouse’s legal challenge to the auction of the late singer’s estate, with the court ruling in favor of Parry and Gurley and ordering him to bear the bulk of his legal costs.