Amy Winehouse’s father Mitch has been unsuccessful in a High Court case he brought against two of the late singer’s friends regarding the sale of her personal belongings.
The iconic singer passed away at 27 at her home in Camden in 2011. Mitch, who oversees her estate, argued last year that her stylist Naomi Parry and close friend Catriona Gourlay had made money by selling a number of items linked to Winehouse through auctions held in the United States in 2021 and 2023.
He took the case to the High Court, seeking hundreds of thousands of pounds. His legal team stated in December that he had not been told about the sales in advance and described the lawsuit as his “only means of obtaining answers”.
Parry and Gourlay both pushed back against the claims. Their legal representatives told the court that the items in question had either been given to them by Amy herself or were already in their possession.
In a ruling delivered on Monday April 20, 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,” reports Sky News.
In a statement released later in the day, Parry said the decision had cleared her name “unequivocally and in full, after years of deeply damaging and unfounded allegations” made by Mitch.
“I stood beside Amy as a friend, a creative partner, and her costume designer,” she said. “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.”
She added that the case had affected her health and professional life, telling followers on Instagram that she now intends to focus on rebuilding her “life and career, and protecting my name, the work I created with Amy, and her legacy,” she added.
The outcome has also been welcomed by Camden pub the Hawley Arms, which commented on Parry’s recent post where she expressed gratitude to her legal team, supporters, and Kelly Osbourne for standing by her throughout the dispute.
The news follows a recent moment where Amy’s legacy was recognised at the 2026 BRIT Awards. The ceremony took place in February and saw Grammy winning producer and DJ Mark Ronson receive the Outstanding Contribution Award.
He was honoured for his work on several major hits, including Winehouse’s ‘Back To Black’ and ‘Valerie’, Bruno Mars’ ‘Uptown Funk’, Dua Lipa’s ‘Electricity’, and Miley Cyrus’ ‘Nothing Breaks Like A Heart’.
While accepting the award, Ronson looked back on meeting Winehouse and said that writing ‘Back To Black’ was a day that “changed my life forever.”
