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LONDON - A Bermuda-based tycoon goes to court on Tuesday in a landmark effort to get a 48 million pound ($138.44 million) divorce settlement -- believed to be the biggest in British legal history -- more than halved.
Paul Charman's appeal to cut ex-wife Beverley's payout to 20 million pounds is based on the grounds she should receive a substantially less than equal share of their fortune because of the "exceptional" contribution he had made in creating it.
"This case is splitting the nation, with men supporting him and women backing her," said divorce lawyer Vanessa Lloyd Platt.
"He's not going to get anywhere," added Platt. "The basis of his appeal is that he doesn't believe in the law as it is and that kind of approach is not attractive to the court."
The appeal is expected to last three days with the final ruling likely to be studied closely by lawyers negotiating the divorce pay-off between Paul McCartney and his estranged wife Heather Mills.
"This case will have some significance to that case, but the McCartney and Mills divorce is very different," said Jeremy Levison, senior partner at divorce firm Levison Meltzer Pigott.
"It was a short marriage and most of the wealth was acquired before they wed -- there's no way in the world she will get 50 per cent or anything like that.
"Generally assets are split equally, but the significance of this case is how much a stellar contribution should be factored in," added Levison.
John and Beverley Charman met at school in 1969 when they were teenagers and divorced in 2003 after 27 years marriage.
During their time together, insurance underwriter John Charman, who owns Axis Holdings, amassed 150-160 million pounds from the London insurance market. The company has a reported market capitalisation of almost 3 billion pounds.
Judge Paul Coleridge in awarding Beverley Charman the huge payout last August said she played a part in the accumulation of the wealth, though he also recognised the specific talents of her former husband.
He said that while fairness dictated the fortune should be split 50-50, apart from sums set aside in trust for their two children, he allotted John Charman, who is now resident in Bermuda, a larger portion.
In percentage terms, Beverley Charman received just under 37 per cent of the total assets.
Last year Charman was listed on the Sunday Times Rich List as the 707th wealthiest Briton, with a fortune of 82 million pounds.
- REUTERS
