Singer-songwriter Vanessa Amorosi has won a legal battle against her mother after a judge ruled that an alleged housing agreement between the two never took place.
The 42-year-old was suing Joyleen Robinson in the Victorian Supreme Court for full ownership of two properties purchased as a result of her success.
One was an eight-hectare property in Narre Warren, south-east of Melbourne, while the second was Amorosi’s current residence in California.
Amorosi claimed the $650,000 used to purchase Narre Warren’s home in 2001 came from a trust account set up to receive all of her earnings as a singer-songwriter.
Ms Robinson alleged that Amorosi agreed to hand over full ownership of the Narre Warren home if she paid $650,000 when requested.
She maintained that the agreement was made in February 2001 during a conversation in the kitchen of her former family home.
Ms Robinson said she gave Amorosi $710,000 in 2014 for the loan he took out on his US home, maintaining that she had kept her end of the housing deal.
But Amorosi told the court she should have full ownership since there was never any agreement.
Vanessa Amorosi has won a legal battle against her mother over ownership of two properties. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)
Amorosi sued his mother, Joyleen Robinson (centre), in the Supreme Court of Victoria (James Ross/AAP PHOTOS)
The singer also sought to be the sole owner of her current residence in California, which was purchased through a trust account created by her mother.
Judge Steven Moore ruled Thursday that the alleged arrangement between Amorosi and her mother never occurred and that the Narre Warren property should be in Amorosi’s name alone.
It also found that Amorosi should be the sole owner of her California home.
But Judge Moore agreed that Ms. Robinson should receive restitution from Amorosi for the contribution she made to Amorosi’s estate in 2014.
He ordered Amorosi to pay his mother $650,000 plus $219,486.33 in interest.
Amorosi did not attend court Thursday for Judge Moore’s sentencing because he was still in the United States.
Mrs. Robinson was also not present, although some members of her family attended the trial.
Amorosi Cottage at Narre Warren North is a dark spot in an otherwise picturesque landscape.
Amorosi hit the big time in 1999 with the release of her debut single, ‘Have a Look’, which achieved gold status in Australia.
The following year, she achieved international success with her debut studio album, The Power.
Amorosi performed at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
Their performance of ‘Heroes Live Forever’ at the opening ceremony garnered international acclaim.
But it was their song “Absolutely Everybody” that became the unofficial anthem of the games and went on to be a huge hit in Australia and many European countries, including Britain and Germany.
Their combined album and single sales have surpassed two million worldwide.