Amy Winehouse's Father Ordered to Pay Almost £1m by Court

Mitch Winehouse had accused the women of profiting from the sale of dozens of his daughter's items at US auctions in 2021 and 2023 and of "deliberately concealing" the sales. Ms Justice Clarke threw out the claim, finding he "knew all along" about the intended sale and had only afterwards pursued them "aggressively and relentlessly". As of April, Parry's costs stood at £715,361 and Gourlay's at £487,132, and he was ordered to make interim payments of £569,330 and £394,521 within two weeks — a scale that recalls other costly courtroom battles.

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.

Why Amy Winehouse's father lost the case

The judge 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 that he had done so to two young women who "had stood faithfully by Amy". Winehouse must pay the pair's legal costs on an indemnity basis. His daughter died aged 27 in July 2011.