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Court backs ex-wife over divorce cash Dale Vince ex-wife wins divorce cash battle
(35 minutes later)
A former New Age traveller whose ex-husband became a millionaire a decade after they separated has won a Supreme Court financial claim. A woman has won a landmark Supreme Court bid to claim cash from her millionaire ex-husband 20 years after they divorced.
Kathleen Wyatt, 55, had lodged the claim against Dale Vince, 53, founder of wind-power firm Ecotricity.Kathleen Wyatt, 55, had lodged the claim against Dale Vince, 53, founder of wind-power firm Ecotricity.
Five Supreme Court justices unanimously ruled in her favour when they gave their verdict earlier. Mr Vince had previously appealed successfully against Ms Wyatt's claim on the basis it was too late.
The case should now be analysed by a judge in the Family Division of the High Court, they said. But five Supreme Court justices unanimously ruled in her favour when they gave their verdict earlier.
One justice, Lord Wilson, said Ms Wyatt's claim was "legally recognisable" and not an "abuse of process". Delivering the ruling, Lord Wilson said the court must have regard "to the contribution of each party to the welfare of the family, including by looking after the home or caring for the family".
However, he said a £1.9m payout she had hoped to secure was "out of the question". 'Prospect of success'
But, he said, justices thought that there was a "real prospect" that she would get a "comparatively modest award". The pair had a son Dane, and lived a New Age traveller lifestyle before their eventual divorce, the court heard.
Lord Wilson said Ms Wyatt had raised her son through "sixteen years of real hardship".
Her claim was "legally recognisable" and not an "abuse of process", he said, although the £1.9m payout she had hoped to secure was "out of the question".
"It is obvious, even at this stage, that an award approaching that size is out of the question," he said.
"Her claim may even be dismissed.
"But there is, in our opinion, a real prospect that she will secure a comparatively modest award, perhaps of a size which would enable her to purchase a somewhat more comfortable, mortgage free home'.
Mr Vince and Ms Wyatt had met as students in their early 20s and married in 1981.
Ms Wyatt lived on benefits, while Mr Vince lived in an old ambulance before he launched green energy firm Ecotricity in Stroud, Gloucestershire in 1995.
He started the business using a wind turbine he had made from recycled materials to power his caravan.
He is now worth an estimated £107m and has an OBE.
Ms Wyatt lodged her first claim for "financial remedy" in 2011.