Amy Winehouse’s friends win case after singer’s dad Mitch Winehouse attempted to sue them for over £730,000 after they auctioned her belongings.
Naomi Parry, the late singer’s stylist, and another friend, Catriona Gourlay, were facing legal action from Winehouse, who is acting as the administrator of his daughter’s estate.
The Back to Black singer tragically died aged 27 on July 23, 2011, from alcohol poisoning.
He claimed they had ‘deliberately concealed’ and profited from selling dozens of items at auctions in the United States in 2021 and 2023.
However, today a High Court judge ruled that ‘neither Ms Parry nor Ms Gourlay deliberately concealed any of their disputed items from the claimant’
Deputy High Court judge Sarah Clarke KC added: ‘Even if I am wrong about that, Mr Winehouse could have discovered what disputed items the defendants had with reasonable diligence.’
Parry claimed that the court battle has ‘taken a toll’ on her health, insisting she had ‘stood beside Amy as a friend’.
In a statement provided by her lawyers, the stylist said after the ruling: ‘Today, the High Court has cleared my name, unequivocally and in full, after years of deeply damaging and unfounded allegations brought by Mitch Winehouse.’
The case was first brought in 2023, with the estate seeking £534,192.90 in damages from Parry, while also claiming £198,041.07 from Gourlay.
Parry’s statement continued: ‘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.’
They added: ‘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.
‘Accountability matters, and I will take the steps necessary to address the damage caused. For now, my focus is on rebuilding my life and career, and protecting my name, the work I created with Amy, and her legacy.’
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