Australian singer Vanessa Amorosi is in a stalemate with her mother after suing her over ownership of properties in Australia and the United States following a dramatic dispute.
The Absolutely Everything artist sued Joyleen Robinson over sole ownership of two properties last year, nearly a decade after the pair feuded over her music earnings.
Robinson had lived at the semi-rural property in Narre Warren, in Melbourne’s southeast, since 2001, while the other was Amorosi’s current home in California.
Earlier this year, Supreme Court Justice Steven Moore ruled that Amorosi was entitled to the properties, but would have to pay his mother nearly $870,000 in restitution.
The matter returned to court Tuesday after negotiations between attorneys representing the mother and daughter broke down.
Amorosi’s attorney, Joel Fetter, said the singer was presenting two of three options for a settlement between the couple following the court ruling.
In the first, Fetter said Amorosi would allow his mother to stay in the house if she was bought out of the regional property.
Otherwise, Ms Robinson could choose to sell the property, although the court was told there were disagreements over how and for how much this would happen.
Vanessa Amorosi is suing her mother for ownership of two properties purchased at the height of her success. Image: Newswire/Nicki Connolly
Fetter told the court it was common for the Real Estate Institute of Victoria to be appointed to find an agent, or someone with knowledge of selecting real estate agents.
In the second option, Ms Amorosi was required to make a net payment to Ms Robinson after money was exchanged in order of costs between the couple.
The offer was initially made on the eve of the trial and would allow Robinson to walk away with $350,000 after paying $300,000 to Amorosi.
Supreme Court Justice Steven Moore questioned whether the order was “reasonable”, the basis on which he will make his decision on costs.
“The final proposal is a net transfer of $350,000, which is far less than Ms. Robinson is entitled to by court order,” he said.
The court was informed that the calculations used to make the amount to be paid by Mrs Robinson were erroneous, but according to Mr Fetter the net sum still stood.
In his brief, Ms Robinson’s lawyer, Daniel Harrison, also questioned how the figure was calculated and that it had no relation to the final offer.
“It is a serious matter and I am not suggesting that there was any intention or recklessness in stating the figure of $300,000, but it was a serious mistake,” he said.
“It was a profound mistake and you can’t hear my learned friend say, or the plaintiff say, look, the end justifies the means.”
The pop star’s mother, Joyleen Robinson, lost the property but was ordered to have her money refunded.
The Narre Warren North property that Vanessa Amorosi must sell to pay her mother and leave her homeless
Amorosi filed legal action in March 2021 seeking sole ownership of a trust that included both women as owners.
The singer claimed that the properties were purchased with her property and that her mother had been “very generous” with the millions of dollars she earned.
“She’s the party that earned all the money to buy it, she’s the party that, obviously, with that new wealth, would want to buy a house,” Mr. Farrer said.
‘And she is the party who acted consistently over the next few years, with the position that the house was hers.
“So we’re saying that in this offer, where Ms. Amorosi says she can take half the house, it’s a 5050, which was very generous in my presentation, given the prospects.”
In the countersuit, Ms. Robinson claimed that the Narre Warren home was purchased for her and that the couple had struck a deal in the kitchen of their former family home.
The agreement allegedly stipulated that if the singer ever ran into financial difficulties, Ms. Robinson would refund the initial purchase price of $650,000.
In 2014, he paid $710,000 from the sale of his previous home to pay off Ms. Amorosi’s $1.2 million California mortgage, claiming the agreement had been fulfilled.
Vanessa Amorosi continues to tour and perform. He is pictured at a 2023 gay pride event in Sydney.
But Judge Moore concluded that the “cooking agreement” had never come to fruition, and Ms Robinson would be repaid the $650,000 plus $219,486 in interest.
The court was told on Tuesday that Ms Robinson had made claims that were later abandoned that the trust was for the benefit of the entire Amorosi family.
The matter is expected to return to court later this week after Harrison late filed an affidavit regarding restitution of the trust.
