‘Divorce’ woman must share £1.7m with jobless lover
Female graduate was a ‘housewife’ and is entitled to half of house she shared with girlfriend, says judge
AN UNEMPLOYED female law graduate has been awarded half of the £1.7million home she lived in with her ex-girlfriend after arguing she played the role of a “housewife” in the relationship.
Shree Ladwa, 43, was given expensive jewellery and hundreds of thousands in cash during a 16-year relationship with businesswoman Beverley Chapman, 46. Ms Chapman worked to fund their lifestyle, paying off the mortgage, buying her lover an Aston Martin for her birthday and proposing with a diamond ring in Monte Carlo.
But the “tempestuous” relationship foundered, leading to a bitter county court battle over their £1.7million former home near Chingford, Essex, as she accused Ms Ladwa of never doing a “proper day’s work”. Ms Ladwa, meanwhile, claimed she was entitled to half the property, like any other “housewife” in a traditional divorce battle.
Arguing that Ms Ladwa should get nothing, Ms Chapman complained she was used as a “cash cow” by her ex, who had pressured her into putting the house in joint names.
Ruling on the case, Judge Stephen Murch found that it was their “common intention” on buying the house that it would be jointly owned. He rejected Ms Chapman’s claim that she transferred the house into joint names because of Ms Ladwa’s “undue influence”. “I cannot accept that Ms Ladwa was the kind of person who could make her act against her will,” he said. He added: “Unfortunately, I was left with the impression that Ms Chapman has convinced herself that her version of events is to be preferred, regretting what she now perceives to have been undue generosity when she was in a relationship with Ms Ladwa.”
Central London County Court heard the couple began dating in 2000 and lived together from early on in their relationship. Ms Chapman worked in her family’s successful building business, while Ms Ladwa was a law student at university. Her degree did not lead to a permanent job, lawyers told the court. Ms Ladwa’s only income was a £25,000-a-year allowance from her mother.
The relationship finally ended in 2016, when Ms Ladwa gave back £75,000 engagement rings. Ms Chapman also sued for the return of what she said were loans, including expensive designer goods, and the proceeds of sale of the Aston Martin, but the judge ruled she could keep them.
Comparing the case with a divorce battle, Judge Murch said Ms Ladwa was “effectively the housewife”.
He said the house had been bought largely with money from their joint bank account, including the proceeds of the sale of their previous home.
The case was considered in a threeday hearing at Central London County Court in January, but the judge’s ruling has only now been made public.
‘Unfortunately, Ms Chapman has convinced herself that her version of events is to be preferred’