Mitch Winehouse, father of the late singer Amy Winehouse, has filed a legal claim seeking £730,000 from two of her former flatmates over the auction of possessions allegedly belonging to the late artist. The dispute centers on an auction held in Los Angeles in 2021, where approximately 700 items, mostly clothing, were sold.

Amy Winehouse, who died in 2011 at age 27 from alcohol poisoning, left behind a substantial estate which her father inherited, as she died intestate. Following her death, Mitch Winehouse maintained relationships with two of her close friends and former flatmates, Naomi Parry and Catriona Gourlay. However, their relationship deteriorated after the auction of the singer’s belongings.

Winehouse contends that Parry and Gourlay wrongfully auctioned off around 150 items that belonged to his daughter and wrongly retained the proceeds, rather than passing them on to her estate or designated charities. Notably, two years after the auction, Gourlay sold a pair of Winehouse’s blood-stained ballet slippers for £3,000, further fueling the dispute.

At the opening of the civil trial at London’s Royal Courts of Justice, Mitch Winehouse expressed anger over the auction and denied that his daughter would have parted with so many personal items, insisting these belonged to her estate. He urged the court to order Parry and Gourlay to return funds to enable him to donate the money to a charity building a school in St Lucia, part of Amy Winehouse’s ongoing charitable legacy.

In court, barrister Henry Legge KC argued that it was only after the auction that Mitch Winehouse learned Parry and Gourlay claimed ownership of many of the items and intended to retain the proceeds. He described their claims as inconsistent with documentation related to the auction and referred to a text exchange between Parry and auctioneer Darren Julien. Julien noted that Winehouse believed he owned a dress sold for $190,000 (£143,000), with Parry responding ambiguously, suggesting he might be mistaken about ownership.

Parry and Gourlay deny any wrongdoing, maintaining that many items were lent to Winehouse or previously given to her by the late singer, entitling them to proceed with the sale. They also assert that they were transparent in their dealings ahead of the auction. The pair said they frequently accessed a storage unit containing a substantial volume of Winehouse’s possessions, underscoring the complexity of the ownership claims.

Mitch Winehouse acknowledged that his daughter was generous with her belongings but contested the scale of items Parry and Gourlay claimed. The case remains ongoing as the court continues to examine the evidence presented.