A divorcing multimillionaire couple have been slammed by a judge for turning their children into ‘losers’ after squandering more than two million pounds on legal fees in a ‘nihilistic’ court fight.
During their 22 years together, shipping tycoon Captain Paul Anthony Crowther, 54, and horse-loving wife Caroline lived a life of luxury in a sprawling £4.5m manor house near Hartfield in the East Sussex countryside.
The pair ran a successful business in Brighton that chartered vessels to offshore oil, natural gas, and wind farm industries.
After their relationship ended in 2018, the wealthy couple began a court battle over their assets.
Although they had at one time owned assets worth millions, they have blown over £2.3m in fighting a bitter divorce case through 34 separate hearings before judges, family judge Mr Justice Peel said.
And in the end, he awarded Mr Crowther just £77,414 and his ex-wife £660,961 from their remaining fortune, saying: ‘The only beneficiaries of this nihilistic litigation have been the specialist and high-quality lawyers.
“The main losers will probably be the children, who, aside from the emotional pain from seeing their parents involved with such bitter proceedings, will lose the monies which their parents would have preferred them to receive in due course.”
Captain Paul Anthony Crowther, 54, (right) and ex-wife Caroline Crowther, 49 were slammed by a judge for making their children into the ‘losers’ after squandering £2.3m on lawyers in their ‘nihilistic’ divorce battle
Paul (pictured) was awarded just £77,414 of the couple’s remaining fortune in their legal fight
A court hearing had previously revealed that Mrs Crowther, 49 was a keen rider who spent a lot of money on a string ‘valuable horse’ while her husband also owned a fleet of valuable cars and a stake at a private aircraft, all the while their children attended private schools.
The former couple’s assets also included the £4.5m pound manor house which was their former matrimonial home, at Landhurst, near Hartfield, in East Sussex.
The house was once the country home for J Arthur Rank, a film mogul. It is located right next to the farm where Winnie-the-Pooh was first written. It is also close to the Poohsticks Bridge in Ashdown Forest and the places that inspired Hundred Acre Wood.
Lord Justice Males, the Court of Appeal judge, had explained that Paul and Caroline Crowther had run a shipping company together but are now in the throes of bitter divorce.
‘Mr Crowther was an expert in shipping so he was responsible to charter out the vessels as well as their management and operation. Mrs Crowther dealt with the financial aspects of the business, as well as the management of property.
“It seems that the business was sufficiently successful for the Crowthers in order to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle.
‘They lived in a house in Sussex valued in excess of £4.5 million… educated their three children privately, owned horses, for which purpose they employed a groom, a collection of expensive cars, and until recently an interest in a private aeroplane.
As well as the disputed ships, the former couple’s assets include the £4.5m manor house which was their former matrimonial home, near Hartfield, in East Sussex
“The depressing procedural history so far of the divorce proceedings… shows a high level of acrimony, mistrust on both parties.”
Now ruling on the division of the couple’s remaining assets in the High Court, Mr Justice Peel said that the manor at Landhurst ‘was sold for £4.5m; the net proceeds of sale were £3,587,067’ but that the money has since ‘been depleted by sums paid out for legal costs’.
The couple still have over £340,000 worth of yachts, horses, vehicles and guns, the judge added.
He described the wife’s intelligence, competence, and capacity, but added that her husband had made her suspicious of every act she took after he closed the family company and transferred all assets to a new business under his sole name.
Judge ruled that ‘To have closed her family business, in which she was a co-owner, and simply transferred all assets and staff to a new company owned by him was egregious conduct.
He stated that “the husband set the tone for litigation,” adding: “The husband feels a great amount of anger towards the wife, and, I presume, her solicitors for conducting the litigation.” He displayed a sense ‘injured righteousness’ as a result.
Mrs Crowther had argued that a £10m fleet of boats owned by offshore companies were in reality assets of the marriage and ought to be put in the pot when their wealth is split. Pictured: The Atlantic Discovery, one the boats being fought over
He added that the wife was not entirely to blame for her conduct in the litigation.
Mrs Crowther had told the judge that she needed over £1m from the divorce in order to buy a new house, but the judge said that might never happen due to the money which has gone on their court fight.
He stated that although the sums available may not be sufficient to buy a property at the level they desire, the husband did not submit property details.
“They may have to continue renting – just as they did in the past. They will have to adjust their needs to fit the available funds.
“At the risk for repetition, it is the incidence cost that has directly led to this condition.”
He said, “Each party believes the other is, for their own words, out to destroy them.”
These proceedings have been extremely tense. They and their lawyers have taken a bitterly fought adversarial approach.
“I’ve asked myself a lot of times whether the aggressive approach used by each side has made any difference; it seems to have led to huge costs and a reduced scope for settlement.
“The toll on each side is incalculable. The wife was visibly distraught during the hearing. I have heard that the impact on the children has also been very detrimental.”
He discovered that neither one of them had any hidden assets. He said that he was splitting the money in favor of the wife due to her conduct, higher earning capacity, and being the main childcare provider.