‘Grumpy’ judge left us with no money from our mum’s will
THREE brothers locked in a fight with their sister over their mother’s £850,000 fortune claim they were left empty-handed because a judge was grumpy.
They are appealing against his decision, saying he was“hostile” for not giving them a fair hearing and insisting they should get a second chance to fight their case.
Remo, Nino and David Rea claim their mum Anna, who died aged 86 in 2016, left them out of her will because sister Rita had poisoned her mind against them.
The trio sued former tennis coach Rita for an equal share of their mum’s money in 2019. But judge, Jonathan Arkush, ruled against them, handing everything to their estranged 56-yearold sister.
Barrister Robin Howard said the brothers, largely represented at the trial by motorbike race manager David Rea, had been “put off their stroke” by the judge who had “lost patience” with them.
But Mr Howard argued that the trial was “unfair” due to the attitude of the judge, meaning they conducted their case in a “hostile and demoralising” atmosphere.
The “annoyed” judge had hurried them along and at one point cut off their questioning of a witness, showing an “apparent impatience” with the brothers, despite the fact they are not trained lawyers, he said. There is no way that can be described as fair, he told High Court appeal. “It is difficult to imagine any advocate, but certainly an amateur first-time advocate, not thinking he is up against a judge who is a bit grumpy by this stage. “It’s the hurrying up, the putting the litigant off his stroke, it’s the imbalance.”
For Rita Rea, barrister Natalie Wood argued that the judge had only interfered because he was trying to make sure the brothers were focused on the central issues.
“He was seeking to strike a balance, offer assistance where he could, and ensure that their case had been properly put and that he understood all the points made,” she said.
The court heard that a previous will, written by Anna Rea in 1986, split everything equally between her four children. But another in 2015 left her sons very small legacies, eaten up by funeral expenses, while their sister inherited her £850,000 home in Tooting, south London.
In the will, she declared: “My sons have not taken care of me and my daughter, Rita, has been my sole carer for many years.”
The brothers said their sister had planted a false idea in their mum’s mind that they had “abandoned” her. Mr Justice Adam Johnson reserved his decision on the brothers’ appeal until a later date.