Evidence of ‘suspicious circumstances’ around Amy Winehouse auctions, court told

By Tom Pilgrim, PA

There is evidence of “suspicious circumstances” surrounding two Amy Winehouse auctions at the centre of a legal battle between the late singer’s father and two of her friends, the High Court has been told.

The estate of Amy Winehouse is suing stylist Naomi Parry and Catriona Gourlay for more than £730,000 over claims they profited from selling her personal property.

Mitch Winehouse, acting as administrator of his daughter’s estate, alleges the two women, who oppose the claim, sent “various items of personal property owned by Amy during her lifetime” to auctions in 2021 and last year.

At a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, Ms Parry and Ms Gourlay were ordered to provide more information to Mr Winehouse in relation to their defence that 156 disputed items were either gifted to them by the performer or were never owned by her.

The two women’s lawyers previously said Mr Winehouse had not shown that the items in the case belonged to his daughter’s estate nor that he was entitled to sue.

They deny “wrongfully” acquiring any items, saying they would “frequently lend” the singer, who died in 2011 aged 27, items amid their shared interest in “fashion and style”.

The court was told the items, sold through a US auction house, include dresses from Ms Winehouse’s cancelled 2011 tour, a Fendi bracelet and bag, make-up and other clothing.

James Fennemore, for Mr Winehouse, said: “This case is going to primarily involve and turn on a detailed scrutiny of the defendants’ case in respect of the circumstances in which they say the items came by them.”

 

He said there was “little or no detail about the circumstances of the alleged gifts”, adding that in Mr Winehouse’s role as administrator of his daughter’s estate “it’s incumbent on him to collate and safeguard the assets”.

“The claimant has been asking for this information since long before these proceedings were brought, Mr Fennemore said.

He added: “There is evidence of suspicious circumstances surrounding these auctions.”

“It’s the claimant’s case that he was told by the defendants that they only intended to consign a small number of personal mementos,” he said and “nothing like the scale” of items sold.

 

In written arguments, Mr Fennemore said Ms Parry had previously raised with Mr Winehouse the prospect of items being sold at auction in benefit of the Amy Winehouse Foundation charity set up after the singer’s death.

It later “came as a very considerable surprise” that Ms Parry had sold 49 items at the 2021 auction totalling 878,183 US dollars (about £682,000) and Ms Gourlay had sold 91 items, for a total of 334,113 dollars (about £259,000), the court was told.

Mr Fennemore said Mr Winehouse was “never told that they purported to own, and intended to sell, items of the nature and scale that transpired”.

Further items were sold at the 2023 auction for a combined 27,690 dollars (about £21,500), he added.

Beth Grossman, for Ms Parry, said Mr Winehouse had already received “extensive” information which was “sufficient” to prevent any “hampering” of his case.

In written arguments, the barrister said the singer’s father had “considerably greater funds available for this litigation” and that the “burden of proof” was on him over possession of the items.

She said the request for information was “unnecessary at this juncture and unfocused”.

Ms Grossman added: “The relevant incidents all took place many years ago, in some cases around 20 years ago; Ms Winehouse has sadly been deceased since 2011, and concern exchanges between women who were close friends.

“This is not a claim arising in a corporate or particularly formal context: the very nature of personal interactions such as this is that there is unlikely to be a large amount of documentary evidence and it is likely that memories may have faded in certain respects.”

Judge Simon Brown granted Mr Winehouse’s request for further information, concluding that what had previously be provided by the defendants was “too vague”.

Ms Winehouse’s estate is seeking £534,192.90 in damages from Ms Parry while also claiming £198,041.07 from Ms Gourlay.

But Ms Parry and Ms Gourlay deny that Mr Winehouse is “entitled to restitution of the value of the disputed items”.

Amy winehouse died on July 23 2011. After two inquests, her cause of death was revealed to be accidental by way of alcohol poisoning.

Her 2006 album, Back To Black, made her an international star and won five Grammys, including record of the year and song of the year for Rehab.