McCartney/Mills divorce case rolls into second week

The Heather Mills/ Paul McCartney divorce hearing will extend into next week after the estranged couple failed to reach a settlement in London’s Royal Courts of Justice.

The case was originally scheduled to conclude today (15 February).

The hearing has been taking place behind closed doors and the presiding judge, Mr Justice Bennett, has slapped a gagging order on the case prohibiting either side from revealing any details.

The hearing will only become public if one side chooses to appeal the court’s decision.

It is believed that the settlement could dwarf the £48m John Charman was ordered to pay his wife in May 2007, making it the largest settlement awarded in divorce history.

Fiona Shackleton of Payne Hicks Beach is representing McCartney while Mills is representing herself after falling out with her lawyers at Mishcon de Reya.

In an unrelated divorce case Susan Crossley, who was being represented by Raymond Tooth of Sears Tooth, yesterday dropped her claim to her ex-husband Stuart Crossley’s multi-million pound fortune (www.thelawyer.com, 14 February).

She had claimed that by failing to disclose his entire wealth when they signed a pre-nuptial agreement, Mr Crossley had compromised the validity of that agreement. Mr Crossley’s lawyer, Mark Harper of Withers, disputed the claim.

Her withdrawal from the case was seen as victory for the legal standing of pre-nuptial agreements in the UK.