Much ado about girl next door
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday June 5, 2009
Michael Evans has trouble remembering whether it's this year or last. BREAKING up is never easy. It's even more complicated when you can't agree if you broke up in 1978 or 2002.The Family Court has been taking a look at the rather "unusual" relationship of a wealthy businessman, his former wife and someone we'll simply refer to as "the other woman".The court was asked to consider an appeal from the former wife, who was miffed when she was awarded only 40 per cent of the family's millions after more than 40 years of marriage.Thing being, while the wife said and the court agreed that the couple separated in 2002, the hubby contended it was as long ago as 1978.Our story gets going in 1984 when the well-to-do businessman and his wife bought a property with two friends "the other woman" and her husband. Our man and his better half lived on one portion of the land while the other woman and her husband lived on the other.For some unexplained reason, there was a falling out between the wife and the other woman soon after they bought the property. But the businessman maintained a "close" relationship with the couple, and had a room in their other property for his own use. In fact, he would often dine and socialise with them, the court heard.The other woman even began working at the businessman's office in an unpaid capacity.Then, sadly, in 1991 the other woman's husband carked it. And at that point the businessman and the other woman's "financial relationship" became "considerably intermingled", including buying several properties together.The trial judge noted po-faced that the parties had "an unconventional relationship", agreeing it was "unusual" and it was "not difficult to discern a strong and long-standing commitment emotionally and financially" between the husband and the other woman.Her Honour showed admirable restraint, noting she found it unnecessary to make any further finding on their relationship.A woman scornedThe whole set-up continued for another decade until the businessman had a stroke in 2002, which he survived."Upon attending the hospital, the wife ascertained the husband had named someone else as next of kin," the court heard. At which point she considered herself separated before moving to end the marriage.The trial judge then had to figure out who contributed what over the decades and how it should be divided. There were the assets the businessman and his former wife owned, the husband's business, the assets of the businessman and the other woman, and an inheritance of the former wife's dead aunt.The matrimonial assets alone were in the millions and the properties with the other woman almost another million. While the trial judge ordered the assets split 60-40 to the husband, the wife's appeal was allowed and the assets split 50-50.Scorned, but satisfied.Word on the docksJames Packer and Greg Goodman aren't the only ones selling their dinghies. The property banana Lang Walker has put his 170-foot sloop Kokomo up for sale with an asking price in the tens of millions.While word around the docks is that Walker has a few boats up for sale, we're told it's only the one, albeit a monster.But we're assured that Walker is not having a few problems with the readies and has in fact already signed up for deliveryof a new, even bigger, 60-metres-plus Kokomo some time next year.Walker is living it rough on the Italian island of Elba, preparing to spend a month racing his Farr 40 in Sardinia. Life's tough.Florida boundJohn Fletcher has picked up a board seat with Intelligent Global Pooling Systems, the big US competitor of his former shop Brambles.At least Fletcher can say he's been in a pallet shop, unlike his opening foray after taking the reins at Coles Myer, when he infamously mused he hadn't been in a supermarket for 25 years.We hope he shows more of a Midas touch this time around than with his last directorship, at the muffler maker Midas, an early casualty of the global downturn.At least Fletch should score the odd trip to sunny Florida for board meetings.Got that mojo workingSol Trujillo may be gone, but a new follicly enhanced banana is set to step up and assume the mantel of most notable CEOwith a mo.Chase Carey has been appointed Rupert Murdoch's offsider at News Corp at least until Murdoch's son James takes over. Carey sports a bushy, greying number with impressive upward curls on both sides. For his part, Sol took the mantle of chief CEO with Mo from the impressively moustached John Fletcher.Details, schmetailsThe horse may have long bolted but the ASX is still trying to secure the gate. Long after ABC Learning collapsed, the market supervisor has pinged ABC's administrators for failing to lodge a final director's interest notice for Larry Anthony. We suspect the administrators were a bit busy, unwinding Eddy Groves's spaghetti-tangled empire.lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Psst! Got a tip? Use our online tips box incognito
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald
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