Heather Mills has been awarded a settlement of almost £25m in her high-profile divorce battle with former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney.
Mills, who represented herself after parting company with Mishcon de Reya, failed to agree a settlement with McCartney during the lengthy court proceedings, leaving the judge, Mr Justice Bennett, to determine the final figure.
It was announced earlier this week (17 March) that she will receive £14m for herself and £2.5m to buy a house in London. Together with her existing assets of £7.8m, it means she leaves the marriage with £24.3m. Mills originally sought £125m, having claimed her ex-husband was worth more than £800m. However, the court found that McCartney’s fortune totalled only £400m.
The full judgment was released after a bid by Mills to prevent its publication failed. It said: “This case is a paradigm example of an applicant failing to put a rational and logical case and thus failing to assist the court in its quasi-inquisitorial role to reach a fair result.”
Last month it emerged that Mishcons is in dispute with Mills - who publicly urged more litigants to represent themselves - over alleged unpaid fees. The firm stopped representing her in November 2007.
Payne Hicks Beach family law partner Fiona Shackleton represented McCartney throughout the proceedings.
Go to legalweek.com/legalvillage for commentary by Manches’ Joanne Edwards.
