Amy Winehouse: Her father ordered to pay £963.851 to the two friends he accused of selling her belongings

Mitch Winehouse has been ordered by the High Court in London to pay nearly £1 million to Naomi Parry and Catriona Gourlay, two close friends of his daughter Amy Winehouse. He had filed a lawsuit against them, accusing them of selling the singer's personal belongings without his permission and concealing their involvement in the auction. The British courts had dismissed all of his claims in April. A new ruling issued on Wednesday, July 29, now sets the initial amounts he must pay to cover the legal costs incurred by the two women.

963,851 pounds to be paid within two weeks

Mitch Winehouse must pay £569,330 to Naomi Parry, Amy Winehouse's former stylist and close friend, and £394,521 to Catriona Gourlay, who was also among the singer's inner circle. The total amount is precisely £963,851. These provisional payments must be made within two weeks. They represent a portion of the legal fees incurred by the two women in defending themselves over several years. In April, Naomi Parry's legal expenses were already estimated at £715,361, while Catriona Gourlay's reached £487,132. Their combined bill thus exceeded £1,2 million and could still increase upon final assessment.

A lawsuit has been filed concerning 141 items

Mitch Winehouse, acting as administrator of his daughter's estate, filed a lawsuit contesting the sale of 141 items related to Amy Winehouse's life and career at two auctions held by Julien's Auctions in Los Angeles, in November 2021 and May 2023. Naomi Parry sold 56 items for a gross amount of $878,000, while Catriona Gourlay offered 85 pieces, which sold for a total of $344,000. Both women claimed that these items belonged to them or had been given to them directly by Amy Winehouse during the years they shared her life. The singer's father was seeking more than £730,000 in damages. He argued that the items actually belonged to Amy Winehouse's estate and that his two friends therefore had no right to sell them for their own benefit.

The dress from the last concert sold for $243,200

The disputed items included stage dresses, shoes, handbags, jewelry, glasses, makeup, and several personal mementos. Among the most valuable pieces was a silk minidress worn by Amy Winehouse at her final concert in Belgrade in June 2011. Designed by Naomi Parry, this dress sold for $243,200. A red Moschino heart-shaped bag fetched $204,800, while a Dolce & Gabbana dress adorned with gold leaves sold for $150,000. Items offered by Catriona Gourlay included an Adidas dress worn on stage and boots associated with the album era. FrankFendi accessories, earrings and several pairs of ballet flats.

The justice system has ruled out any concealment.

Mitch Winehouse maintained that he had not been informed about the presence of items belonging to the two women in the auctions. He accused them of deliberately concealing their intentions in order to keep the auction proceeds. Judge Sarah Clarke KC rejected this version of events. She ruled that Mitch Winehouse had been aware of the planned sale from the outset and had sufficient information to identify the items offered by Naomi Parry and Catriona Gourlay. After examining each item, the photographs, the text messages, and the witness statements, the High Court concluded that a large number of the items had indeed belonged to the two women or had been given to them by Amy Winehouse. No fraudulent or deceitful conduct was found against them.

A procedure deemed aggressive and unjustified

In her ruling on costs, Sarah Clarke KC harshly criticized the way Amy Winehouse's father had conducted the trial. She felt he had chosen to initiate legal action. "intrinsically weak"The judge found that Mitch Winehouse aggressively pursued the case to its conclusion, making serious and unfounded accusations. According to the judge, these accusations damaged the reputation, career, financial security, and health of the two women. She also determined that Winehouse had deliberately transformed the case into a lengthy and extremely expensive legal battle to pressure them into accepting a financial settlement that met his demands. The judge noted that he had sought to expand his claims late in the proceedings, contributing to the trial's three-day extension. She further criticized him for giving his accusations significant publicity by having the press present at the hearings.

Fees granted at the most unfavorable level

Mitch Winehouse will have to pay the two women's legal fees on a compensatory basis. This method generally allows the winning parties to recover a larger share of their costs than in a standard lawsuit. Such a decision is usually made when the losing party's conduct is considered particularly unreasonable. According to the judge, Naomi Parry and Catriona Gourlay were fully within their rights to defend their honesty and reputation to the very end in the face of public accusations of concealment and dishonesty.

A case that could cost him more than two million pounds

In addition to the sums owed to Amy Winehouse's two friends, Mitch Winehouse also faces his own legal fees, estimated at at least £950. Between his personal expenses and the provisional payments ordered by the High Court, the proceedings have already cost him nearly £1,92 million. The final bill could exceed £000 million once the final costs for Naomi Parry and Catriona Gourlay have been fully calculated. Amy Winehouse died on July 23, 2011, at her home in Camden, London, at the age of 27. The inquest concluded that she died from accidental alcohol poisoning. Having died without a will, the singer left an estate to her parents, Mitch and Janis Winehouse.