LONDON: An Indian-origin woman who lived with her businesswoman ex-girlfriend for many years has won a share in a 1.7-million pound home they jointly owned in London. Shree Ladwa, a law graduate, had likened the case to a divorce and sued her former partner in Central London County Court, saying she deserved a share in the property as the effective “housewife” in the 16-year relationship.
The 43-year-old told the court that while she did not have a permanent job, she had cooked and cleaned for Beverley Chapman until they split up in 2016. Judge Stephen Murch agreed with Ladwa and concluded that it was their “common intention” on buying the house that it would be jointly owned. He rejected Chapman’s claim that she only transferred the house into joint names because of Ladwa’s “undue influence”.
“Having seen Ms Chapman gives evidence, I cannot accept that Ms Ladwa was the kind of person who could make her act against her will, the judge said.”Unfortunately, I was left with the impression that Ms Chapman has convinced herself that her version of events is to be preferred, regretting what she now perceives to have been undue generosity when she was in a relationship with Ms Ladwa,” he said. Chapman, 46, had claimed that she had been forced to bankroll the couple’s luxury lifestyle, buying Ladwa an Aston Martin for her birthday and showering her with gifts of expensive jewellery and paying off the mortgage single-handedly on their home in Chingford, north-east London.
When the couple split two years ago, Chapman claimed the home as her own, arguing that Ladwa had not done a “proper day’s work” during their time together. Her lawyer, Elizabeth Darlington, had told the court that Ladwa received GBP 25,000 a year in allowance from her mother and had not worked despite obtaining a law degree. Ladwa, on the other hand, maintained that she had spent time on training after her degree and had applied for jobs but had not got a positive response.
Central London County Court was told the couple got together in 2000 and lived together from very early on in the relationship. Chapman worked in her family’s successful building business, while Ladwa was a third-year law student at university. She didn’t get a permanent job after university and despite training at famous French cookery college Le Cordon Bleu, remained unemployed, the court was told. The court ruling, made public this week, means both women will continue to hold equal shares in the London home and Ladwa would not be required to give back the money or expensive gifts, valued at around GBP 130,000, received from Chapman during their time together. The case was heard at a three-day hearing at Central London County Court in January, with the judge reserving judgment on the case. PTI
