Girlfriend loses her court fight for Rafferty's guitars

Wednesday 24 October 2012

The girlfriend of music legend Gerry Rafferty has been left with a £75,000 legal bill after losing a battle with the late singer's family over his collection of valuable guitars and artwork.

ROW: Italian artist Enzina Fuschini claimed Gerry Rafferty gave her three guitars and other items, but a court has ruled in favour of the singer's daughter, Martha, and his possessions will now stay in the family.

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Ellen THomas

Italian-born artist Enzina Fuschini claimed that during a relationship towards the end of his life the singer gave her three of his favourite guitars and that some other property was jointly owned by her.

Ms Fuschini, 58, of Dorset, said she should be allowed to keep the items, which included a piano, artwork by Henri Matisse and some antique furniture.

However, she was left out of his £1.2 million will, with his possessions and music going to his family, sparking her bid to keep the things she said were legitimately hers.However, Rafferty's friend of 20 years, Russell Roberts, and the singer's daughter, Martha, of Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, took the case to the High Court and have now secured release of the collection.Ms Rafferty and Mr Roberts, who was also Rafferty's solicitor, are executors of his will and the possessions will now go to his grand-daughter, Celia.It leaves Ms Fuschini about £75,000 out of pocket after, in her absence at court, Mrs Justice Proudman ordered she pay the legal costs.She met the singer – originally from Paisley and most famous for his 1978 hit, Baker Street – at a London restaurant about two years before his death in January last year. Rafferty took up residence in Upton, near Poole, to be near the mother-of-three. Later the couple moved into a large rented house nearby.Ms Fuschini said it was during the months before his death that Rafferty, who had struggled with an alcohol problem, made a series of gifts to her, as well as buying items for their joint use.The items – which included three valuable guitars, a Steinway piano, electric keyboard, 13 Matisse lithographs, 22 Russian icons, antique furniture and a Mercedes car – were all kept at their rented home.Ms Fuschini said the gifts of the guitars and piano were made orally and Rafferty had been teaching her to play in the months before he died.However, Mr Roberts said that, after an admission to hospital, the singer-songwriter had asked for some of the items to be returned and had told him he had made no life-time gifts. It was also notable, he argued, Ms Fuschini made her claims only after his death and had initially said she owned 11 guitars, before revising that down to three.Giving her judgment at the London court, the judge said there was no contemporaneous evidence of any of the alleged gifts having been made.She continued: "At no time did the deceased mention he had gifted any valuable items to the defendant. Most importantly, the defendant herself made no such claim until after the deceased's death, even at a time when he was asking for return of assets."I order formal release to the claimants of the items, together with appropriate declarations as to ownership. It seems to me the defendant must pay the costs of this action."

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Girlfriend loses her court fight for Rafferty's guitars

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