Millionaire may face prison over divorce battle Judge found property developer in contempt of court after failing to comply with orders
AM U LT I - M I L L I O N A I R E property developer from Sutton Coldfield who is fighting a bitter court battle with his ex-wife is facing jail.
A judge has ruled that John Hart is in contempt of court and could be sentenced to jail this week.
At a hearing in Bristol, a court will hear how Mr Hart, who is in his 80s, failed to comply with orders imposed on him during previous appearances.
One of the penalties the judge can impose for contempt of court is a jail term.
Mr Hart and his ex-wife Karen, have been embroiled in a bitter and long-running court battle since their 20-year marriage ended in 2006 and they started divorce proceedings in 2011.
Since then the couple have spent more than £500,000 on lawyers’ bills while fighting over money.
After numerous court appearances, it was decided that Ms Hart’s divorce settlement should be £3.5 million.
But the former air hostess, who is in her 60s, argued that because the family’s fortune was worth more than £9 million, she should receive £5 million.
At the Court of Appeal in London last August judges rejected this and her chunk remained at £3.5 million.
But last month, family court Judge Stephen Wildblood concluded that Mr Hart had failed to comply with an undertaking and orders made during litigation,
In a ruling published after the last hearing in Bristol on February, Judge Wildblood said Mr Hart “resented” orders made in favour of his former wife and his contempt of court had been “persistent”.
Previous court hearings have heard how the couple met in 1979 by which time Mr Hart was already a multi-millionaire, having built a property development empire after starting out on his father’s fruit and veg stall in the 1950s.
Ms Hart was an air hostess with “no assets, save for a Porsche”.
They tied the knot eight years later and enjoyed a prosperous lifestyle, living in a £1.1 million fivebedroom gated property in Wishaw, boasting a gym, home cinema room, a separate guest annexe and garaging for five cars.
They had two children, now adu lts , and had holiday homes in Miami and Spain. Two years ago, Judge Wildblood divided their assets, handing Karen £3.5 million to cover her “reasonable needs”. It was just 37 per cent of the money pot, but the judge found John was “wealthy before the marriage”, bringing £2.6 million into the union. Lawyers for Ms Hart argued this was unfair, with her lawyer telling the court : “Marriage is a partnership of equals and, if you build up a pot together, you should share equally in that pot.” But Mr Hart’s barristers disagreed, saying he was wealthy at the time of the marriage, compared to his wife who was a “financial mouse”. Ms Hart received a £3.5 million settlement, which included a home, holiday home, a “very considerable” lifetime income and no liabilities.