From the bench, Lord Justice Thorpe said former spouses should not expect large alimony awards merely because they had grown accustomed to a lavish lifestyle. In the case, hotel multi-millionaire Andrew Morris Davies is contesting a lower court judge’s award to ex-wife Debra Ann Davies.
The lower court, after first assessing her “need” at £1.55 million, then increased her award to a lump sum payment of £2.2 million, plus the couple’s former home, valued at £550,000.
She received the larger award based on supposedly making major contributions to the success of the hotel, where she worked for 13 years. The couple met in 1997 but did not marry until 2005; their divorce came four years later. The ex-husband argued the hotel, inherited from his parents, was a success before his ex-wife began working there.
In fact, he claimed, his ex-wife was merely "the second best receptionist" he had employed at the fashionable West End hotel. He argued she had wrongly been awarded a share of the hotel’s value, since she was only a salaried worker who “simply did her duties.” Maintaining that she had played no part in managing the property, the businessman also argued the state of the economy determined the hotel’s value, and his ex-wife had not significantly contributed to the property’s success.
The ex-wife maintained she and her former husband has together “worked ceaselessly” to transform the property into a successful business. She noted she had designed and built the hotel’s first website, overhauled its advertising and lived with her husband on the premises in a 9’x8’ room before they bought a home.
The presiding appellate judge faulted the lower court’s ruling on the ex-wife’s need, saying it was “completely inappropriate in a case of this scale. We only talk about needs when there isn't a lot to go round.”
He added “need” considerations had no place in such cases, even if wives view it as “reasonable” to seek millions to maintain a former lifestyle. In fact, Lord Justice Thorpe said, “"The bigger the family fortune, the less relevant needs became.”
The wife’s counsel argued the award was justified by her contribution to the business, and the two children she bore during the marriage. The three-judge panel hearing the appeal did not immediately issue a decision.
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