Amy Winehouse with her father in 2010. A high court judge said Mitch Winehouse ‘likes to dominate people and situations’. Photograph: Fred Duval/FilmMagicAmy Winehouse with her father in 2010. A high court judge said Mitch Winehouse ‘likes to dominate people and situations’. Photograph: Fred Duval/FilmMagicAmy Winehouse’s father Mitch loses high court battle against her friendsJudge throws out claim by the singer’s father over the sale of items she once owned
Amy Winehouse’s father has lost a high court claim against two of his daughter’s friends over the auctioning of items once owned by the singer.
Mitch Winehouse, acting as the administrator of his daughter’s estate, sued her stylist Naomi Parry and friend Catriona Gourlay over claims they profited from selling dozens of items at auctions in the US in 2021 and 2023.
Lawyers for Mitch Winehouse told a trial in December the two women had “deliberately concealed” the sales, and that the legal proceedings were his “only means of obtaining answers”. Barristers for Parry and Gourlay said the items were either gifts from Amy Winehouse, or were already owned by their clients.
In her ruling, the deputy high court judge Sarah Clarke KC said: “I find that neither Ms Parry nor Ms Gourlay deliberately concealed any of their disputed items from the claimant, and even if I am wrong about that, Mr Winehouse could have discovered what disputed items the defendants had with reasonable diligence.”
During the trial, lawyers for Parry accused Mitch Winehouse of bringing the claim out of “petty jealousy”, which he denied. He said he thought the money from the 2021 auction would be split between him, Amy Winehouse’s mother Janis, and the Amy Winehouse Foundation (AWF).
The court heard how the auction catalogue contained 834 items and that the sale raised $1.4m (£1.05m) for the Amy Winehouse estate, 30% of which went to the foundation. Items Parry sold included a silk mini dress worn by Winehouse during her final performance in Belgrade in Serbia, which was auctioned for $243,200.
She told the court Mitch Winehouse had offered her $250,000 for the proceeds of her sale and to make the legal claim go away, but that she would “rather set the money on fire than give him a penny”.
The judge said: “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, including through the charitable entity the Amy Winehouse Foundation, which supports and informs young people through a variety of projects.
“It is also the case that Amy’s estate – including, in particular, the royalties from Back to Black – has made Mr Winehouse personally extremely wealthy.
“Mr Winehouse is therefore understandably sensitive about anyone who he perceives as exploiting Amy’s memory, particularly for financial gain, and he is keen to promote the AWF. But also, in my judgment, he is equally sensitive about ensuring that the family continue to benefit financially.”
She also said that Mitch Winehouse “likes to dominate people and situations”, that she found him to be an “unreliable witness” and that he brought the legal action “without bothering to check until shortly before trial” he had a valid claim for the items he was claiming for.
After the judgment, Parry said: “Today, the high court has cleared my name, unequivocally and in full, after years of deeply damaging and unfounded allegations brought by Mitch Winehouse.
“This was not a partial outcome or a matter of nuance. The claim has failed entirely. It should never have been brought.
“I stood beside Amy as a friend, a creative partner and her costume designer. 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.
“This judgment restores the truth. It does not, however, erase the toll, on my health, my work and my life, of defending myself against claims that had no evidential foundation.”
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