Tech boss loses bitter court battle with ex-partner over £1m home

A BUSINESSMAN has lost a bitter court battle to stop his ex-partner getting a 50% share of their £1m Lymington home.

Andrew Horn took action against midwife Claire Chipperfield – the mother of his two children – over their Lower Buckland Road property, which the pair bought in 2006.

However, his argument she should not get half their house because he made bigger financial contributions during their relationship failed at court and a judge ordered him to pay all her legal costs which are understood to amount to tens of thousands of pounds.

Ms Chipperfield has not spoken publicly on the ruling but her solicitor, Katy Barber from Moore Blatch, told the A&T: “We were absolutely thrilled for Claire. It’s the right outcome in the situation and we are pleased.

“We had a very clear and crystallised case from the start and stuck to it right the way through but Mr Horn changed his case. It was quite clear he was not going to succeed.

“What Mr Horn was trying to do was rewrite history because if did not suit his purposes. The facts just did not support him.”

Asked for Ms Chipperfield’s reaction, Mrs Barber said: “I think Claire is sad it came to this and I think she is relieved.”

It is unusual for a separation case to make it to the High Court and the ruling could have ramifications on similar disputes, said Mrs Barber

“The law is so different when it comes to married couples and those who co-habit,” she said. “These sorts of cases very, very rarely get this far because the stakes are so high. In terms of the effect on future cases it shows the sacrifices made by one person is taken into account by judges.

“She sacrificed her career and did such things as invest money and she renovated Mr Horn’s house [in London] with her own money so he did get a lot of equity out of that house to put into purchasing the house the parties lived in together.”

Mr Horn and Ms Chipperfield began a relationship in 1999 and both owned properties in London, which they sold before moving to Lymington in 2006. At some point Ms Chipperfield transferred £39,000 to Mr Horn, it was established in court.

During their relationship the greater income was earned by Mr Horn. He was a chief executive, managing director and vice-president of companies in the field of commercialising technology, with periods of unemployment between assignments.

Ms Chipperfield’s working status had been reduced from full-time to part-time during the relationship and she ceased work during the early years of their children's lives.

The battle first went to the county court in mid-2018, where the ruling went in favour of Ms Chipperfield.

Court documents seen by the A&T reveal Ms Chipperfield claimed the couple discussed owning the property together and it was a joint purchase that “reflected their committed relationship and status as a nuclear family”.

She said on one occasion at the pub Mr Horn told her: “Well, that's it, Chip – we are now 50/50 owners. But that means you owe half the debt as well.”

Mr Horn accepted that conversation took place but argued his words were not be treated literally, and they had kept their finances separate.

In the original court ruling Judge Berkley said Mr Horn “failed to acknowledge” the “sacrifices” Ms Chipperfield made to the family in terms of her career or the “significant contributions” she made to the finances.

That included her investing almost the entire proceeds of her property into the family “pot”.

Mr Horn sought permission to challenge but his initial application was refused. He made a renewed bid to appeal, which was rejected by the High Court.