Photo Credit: Amy Winehouse by Rama / CC by 2.0
Amy Winehouse’s dad has been ordered to pay nearly $2.7 million to two of his late daughter’s friends after accusing them of auctioning off her belongings without consent.
Mitch Winehouse, father of the late Amy Winehouse, has been ordered to pay nearly $2.7 million to two of his daughter’s friends—the same ones he previously accused of auctioning off her belongings without his consent.
The 75-year-old claimed that Naomi Parry and Catriona Gourlay, friends of the late singer, sold off numerous items that belonged to Amy in auctions across the United States between 2021 and 2023 without letting him know. A London judge tossed out the Winehouse patriarch’s claims in April. He tried to appeal that decision, but this latest ruling upholds it.
In his initial filing, Mitch claimed that an auction in 2021 organized through the Los Angeles-based Julien’s Auctions was “deliberately concealed” from him. The judge found that Mitch Winehouse was “prone to aggressive reactions to perceived wrongs” and had been aware of their intention to auction off the items well in advance.
Further, the judge wrote that Winehouse “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 most damning moment comes from court documents from April, revealing that Mitch had been in communication separately with Darren Julien, the head of Julien’s Auctions. He was allegedly sent several press releases ahead of the auction and was made aware of the Grammy Museum’s inventory, which included information about items that would be given to the museum.
He even “asked Julien’s Auctions not to allow Naomi Parry to see the Estate’s auction contract,” the documents claim.
The judge wrote that Mitch Winehouse “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.”
As a result, Mitch Winehouse must pay both of Amy’s friends back in damages and their extensive legal fees accrued defending against his legal onslaught. The court ordered him to pay £569,330 ($760,533.79) to Parry, and £394,521 ($527,106.93) to Gourlay in installments, beginning within the next two weeks.
Amy Winehouse rose to fame in the early 2000s for her unmatched alternative-soul take on 1960s pop music. She died suddenly from alcohol poisoning in 2011 at only 27.
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