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Earl Spencer sues divorce lawyer
Mon 26 Jul 2010
Earl Spencer is suing his legal team over the handling of his divorce, as he believes he could have avoided paying his ex-wife an extra GBP 1 million in the final settlement.
The brother of the late Princess Diana is claiming that Sir Nicholas Mostyn and his legal advisors did not tell him of changes in the law that meant the divorce hearing could not be held in private.
As a result, he chose to settle out of court and paid his former spouse Caroline Hutton over GBP 5.6 million - more than the GBP 4.5 million he had expected to pay out, the Mail on Sunday reports.
Earl Spencer has claimed that if he had been aware of the changes in the rules earlier on, he would have adopted different tactics during his negotiations.
He is now seeking GBP 1 million in damages on the grounds of negligence and alleged breach of contract.
Earl Spencer married Ms Hutton nine years ago, but they separated in 2006.
Carol Ellinas, a partner at Winckworth Sherwood Solicitors, commented: "The debate about the public's right to access to the workings of the family courts is one that will continue especially in light of this latest twist.
"However it will be a difficult case for Earl Spencer to prove that his lawyers did not try to negotiate a settlement before going to court as there is a duty to try to negotiate before issuing proceedings in any event.
"Offers to settle will have been made throughout the course of the divorce proceedings.
"If they can show that they did try to negotiate but were unsuccessful, then he will be in difficulty. The fact that he didn't want any details of his divorce to be made public and that to keep it secret he would have paid his ex-wife more does not sound particularly attractive.
"Despite this, specialist family lawyers do now have a duty to draw the possibility of media cover to a client's attention."
