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Amy Winehouse’s father, Mitch Winehouse, has been ordered to pay over $1 million to two of the late singer’s friends whom he accused of profiting from auctions of her clothing and other items.
Lawyers for Mitch, 75, alleged Amy’s former stylist Naomi Parry and friend Catriona Gourlay “deliberately concealed” the sales, which took place in 2021 and 2023, however, he lost his claim in the U.K. High Court in April.
On Wednesday, July 29, Judge Sarah Clarke said Mitch “knew all along” about the intended sales and pursued Amy’s friends in an “aggressive and unpleasant way” for money only after the fact, reported the BBC and The Guardian.
Clarke said in Wednesday’s judgment, “The claimant chose to bring an inherently weak claim, pursue it aggressively and relentlessly to the end, and make serious and unfounded allegations against the defendants, which significantly damaged their reputations, career prospects, financial security and health.”
Parry and Gourlay said all of the items sold at auction were given or loaned to them by Amy, who died at age 27 in 2011, or belonged to them.
Clarke ordered Mitch to pay the pair’s legal costs, with interim payments of approximately $761,908 (£569,330) due to Parry and $527,969 (£394,521) due to Gourlay in the next two weeks.
The judge said that Mitch had “deliberately turned this case into large-scale and expensive litigation, in circumstances calculated to exert commercial pressure on the defendants to settle on his terms.”
She added, “The fact that he knowingly and deliberately did this to two young women who had stood faithfully by Amy and also by him and his family, and who had demonstrated their honesty and integrity over many years, makes his unreasonable conduct particularly serious.”
In her April ruling, Clarke said that “Mr. Winehouse is clearly a strong character but also someone who has suffered a great tragedy in the loss of his daughter. Since Amy’s death he has worked hard to keep her memory alive. It is also the case that Amy’s Estate … has made Mr. Winehouse personally extremely wealthy.”
She said that Mitch was “understandably sensitive about anyone who he perceives as exploiting Amy’s memory, particularly for financial gain … but also in my judgment, he is equally sensitive about ensuring that the family continue to benefit financially.”
“The evidence shows that in addition to Mr. Winehouse’s many good qualities, he likes to dominate people and situations and expects people to do what he wants,” Clarke determined.
In an April statement, Parry said the judge’s decision had cleared her name “unequivocally and in full, after years of deeply damaging and unfounded allegations.”
“I stood beside Amy as a friend, a creative partner, and her costume designer,” she said. “What we shared was built on trust, loyalty, and a genuine love of the work. To see that relationship misrepresented so publicly has been both painful and profoundly unjust.”
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