Amy Winehouse's father ordered to pay nearly £1 million to her friends

Amy Winehouse's father, Mitch Winehouse, has been ordered to pay just under £1 million to two of the late singer's close friends after losing a High Court claim over the auction of her personal belongings.According to the Press Association, the ruling follows Winehouse's unsuccessful legal action against Naomi Parry and Catriona Gourlay, whom he accused of profiting from the sale of dozens of Amy Winehouse's personal items at auctions held in the United States in 2021 and 2023.Winehouse had alleged that the two women had "deliberately concealed" the sales. However, the High Court dismissed his claim earlier this year, with Ms Justice Clarke finding that he "knew all along" about the intended auctions and only later sought to pursue the women for money in what the judge described as an "aggressive and unpleasant way."

Judge criticises Mitch Winehouse's conduct

In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, Ms Justice Clarke sharply criticised Winehouse's conduct throughout the proceedings."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," the judge said.

The court noted that, as of April, Naomi Parry's legal costs were estimated at £715,361, while Catriona Gourlay's costs stood at £487,132.Ms Justice Clarke ordered Winehouse to make interim payments of £569,330 to Parry and £394,521 to Gourlay within the next two weeks.

Legal costs awarded on indemnity basis

According to the Press Association, Winehouse was also ordered to pay the women's legal costs on an indemnity basis, a ruling that generally allows the successful parties to recover a greater proportion of their legal expenses.

Such orders are typically reserved for cases where one party has behaved particularly unreasonably.The judge further said Winehouse 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."The ruling brings to a close Winehouse's legal challenge over the auction of the late singer's belongings, with the court finding in favour of Parry and Gourlay and ordering him to cover a substantial portion of their legal costs.