Amy Winehouse’s estate sues the late icon’s friends for £730k in auction legal row
"The estate has questioned how these items came into their possession and has not had satisfactory answers"
by Anagricel Duran · NMEAmy Winehouse‘s estate has sued the late singer’s friends for £730,000 over claims they profited from selling her personal property at an auction.
Mitch Winehouse – the father of the late icon and administrator her estate – has sued both Naomi Parry and Catriona Gourlay – friends of Winehouse – at the High Court after they allegedly kept profits from a sale of her belongings.
According to the court document, both women had allegedly sent “various items of personal property owned by Amy during her lifetime” to two auctions in 2021 and this year.
It claimed that by having the items put up for sale “in their own names and on their own behalf”, they were able to convert Winehouse’s property “to their own use”.
The estate is currently seeking £534,192.90 in damages from Parry while also claiming £198,041.07 from Gourlay.
Mitch claimed that any money made should have gone to the Amy Winehouse Foundation which was set up in the singer’s memory following her death from alcohol poisoning in 2011.
Gourlay and Parry allegedly gained a portion of £3.3million raised during a 2021 auction in Beverly Hills. A dress made by Parry reportedly fetched £200,000 at the auction.
Last month, the Amy Winehouse Foundation said in a statement: “In 2021, Amy’s estate auctioned items from her life and career with 30 per cent of the proceeds going to the Amy Winehouse Foundation. Two individuals sold a number of items at that auction and have retained the proceeds: the items were all Amy related.”
“This year they have put more Amy-related items up for auction and together the two auctions have generated six figure sums for each of them,” it added.
“The estate has questioned how these items came into their possession and has not had satisfactory answers. The estate has therefore launched a legal process to clarify the situation. The Amy Winehouse Foundation will directly benefit if monies are recovered from either Defendant.”
As per The Mail, it is believed that Gourlay and Parry dispute the claims.
Last month saw Winehouse’s friend and collaborator Mark Ronson pay tribute to the late singer on what would have been her 40th birthday. “We miss the Lioness so much,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Winehouse’s live band announced details of a special London concert in her honour. The gig will be held at Koko in the star’s hometown of Camden Tomorrow, December 22, 2023.