Amy Winehouse's father ordered to pay $1.26 million to daughter's friends
Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
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- Mitch Winehouse, father of the late singer Amy Winehouse, has been ordered to pay $1.26 million to his daughter's friends.
- He had sued the friends unsuccessfully over the auction of Amy's clothing and personal items.
- A judge ruled that the friends had not acted dishonestly and that Mitch Winehouse had known about the sales.
Mitch Winehouse, the father of the late Grammy-winning singer Amy Winehouse, has been ordered by a UK court to pay 950,000 pounds (approximately $1.26 million) to two of his daughter's friends. This ruling follows Mitch Winehouse's unsuccessful legal challenge against the friends over the auction of Amy's personal belongings.
The plaintiff decided to file an intrinsically weak lawsuit and make serious unfounded accusations against the defendants.
The case centered on the auction of over 155 items belonging to the singer, including clothing, ballet shoes, handbags, and makeup, which took place between 2021 and 2023. Mitch Winehouse had claimed the friends, Naomi Parry (Amy's former stylist) and Catriona Gourlay, had no right to sell the items, which he alleged they had acquired through deception. However, the friends maintained the items were gifts or loans.
High Court judge Sarah Clarke dismissed Mitch Winehouse's claims, ruling that Parry and Gourlay had not deliberately concealed the items. The judge stated that Mitch Winehouse had always been aware of the intention to sell the belongings and only initiated legal action after the auction concluded, apparently seeking financial gain. The judge described his lawsuit as "intrinsically weak" and based on "serious unfounded accusations."
The fact that he did this consciously and deliberately to two young women who had faithfully remained by Amy's side makes his unreasonable conduct especially serious.
Judge Clarke further commented on the "unreasonable conduct" of Mitch Winehouse, noting that his actions against two young women who had remained loyal to Amy were particularly severe. The ruling acknowledges Amy Winehouse's known "extraordinary generosity with her friends," suggesting a potential conflict with her father's actions. The court's decision effectively validates the friends' right to auction the items, while imposing a significant financial penalty on Mitch Winehouse.
Amy Winehouse was known for her extraordinary generosity with her friends and also with people she barely knew.
DistantNews Editorial
Originally published by TVN Panamá in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.
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