Ex-lover sues for £½m for moving to Scotland

Published on Tuesday 2 March 2010 21:50

A MILLIONAIRE businessman is being sued for £500,000 by a former lover who claims she gave up her life in England to live with him in Scotland.

• Alan Savage. Picture: Complimentary

Julie Anne Zelent says she suffered "economic disadvantage" by moving north of the Border to stay with Alan Savage, chairman of an Inverness recruitment firm.

She alleges the couple had "discussed the possibility of marriage" and claims the amount is justified to cover lost earnings, pension rights and other costs while living with the entrepreneur.

Mr Savage, a former chairman of Inverness Caledonian Football Club, claims the sum is excessive.

He has recently married Lynne Cordiner, a former corporate and appeals fundraiser for Highland Hospice, and the couple are currently on honeymoon.

Ms Zelent and Mr Savage, chairman of Inverness-based recruitment firm the Orion Group, lived together in the Highland capital during two periods between 2006 and October 2008.

In court papers, she claims she gave up her 40,000-a-year job as a computer aid facilities manager for the Royal Bank of Scotland in London.

She had met Mr Savage in June 2006 and moved to Inverness to live with him three months later, cohabiting in the city's affluent Lochardil area.

Ms Zelent was employed in the same role by Mr Savage at his company, being paid a salary of 50,000 a year.

She held the position until they separated in August 2007, although Mr Savage claims she did not actively work for the company. The court papers state that she was paid a lump sum of 20,000 on the termination of her employment.

Ms Zelent then moved to Bedfordshire and was offered a job with FSI (BM Solutions) Ltd, but rejected it after Mr Savage contacted her to seek a reconciliation.

She returned to Inverness and the court papers claim she was given 4,000 in lieu of earning to pay for the household and "other general expenditure".

She sold the property in Bedfordshire and Ms Zelent said it was in May 2008 the couple "discussed the possibility" of marriage.

The court papers say: "The pursuer believed that her relationship with the defender was secure and that the defender would financially provide for her."

However, Mr Savage denied they discussed marriage and claims the decision to reject the job with FSI was Ms Zelent's alone, as was her selling the house.

Ms Zelent, who now lives in Leeds with no income, claims she made financial and non-financial contributions to the relationship. She said Mr Savage was "economically advantaged" by her contributions, while she had suffered "economic disadvantage".

Mr Savage denies this.

He further denies deriving any financial advantage from Ms Zelent, claiming that, in fact, he suffered "substantial economic disadvantage".

The civil action was raised at Inverness Sheriff Court and the case is to be heard in June to allow for adjustments.

Mr Savage is originally from Manchester and, upon moving to the Highlands, established Orion Group in 1987 with his wife Linda, originally to recruit workers for the Moray Firth fabrication yards.

It has since expanded to become an international company specialising in engineering recruitment and supplying more than 3,500 personnel across the globe. In 2008, it had a turnover of 287 million.

Mr Savage's wife died in January 2006, aged 53, after a long battle with cancer. Since then, Mr Savage and his children Fiona and Paul have raised tens of thousands for the charity Marie Curie Cancer Care.

The businessman, whose company has a box at Manchester United, received the Queen's Award for Enterprise in the international category, collecting the award on behalf of Orion Group from Prince Andrew.

What law says about co-habitees' rights

UNTIL the 2006 Family Law Act was introduced, co-habiting couples in Scotland essentially had no rights in the event of a break-up.

The new rules gave co-habitees limited rights at the breakdown of the relationship, upon death or in the event of a separation.

Now, if a co-habitee dies without leaving a will, the common-law partner can make a claim upon the estate.

In the event of a separation, a co-habiting partner has the right to a share of the household goods obtained while living together, unless clear ownership can be proven by one party. However, they are not entitled to a share in the marital home unless it is registered in both names.

Co-habiting couples are not entitled to claim for maintenance payments from their former partners in the same way divorcing couples are.

However, should one party move out of the shared home, they can apply for a lump sum from their former partner.

This will be granted only if they are able to demonstrate to a court that the partnership had given them an "economic disadvantage" while handing their partner an "economic advantage". In practice, this could mean having given up a job to look after the couple's children or supporting the other through unemployment or study.

Unlike similar provisions in Australia, the Scottish legislation does not insist on a minimum period of co-habitation, stating merely that claimants must be living together as "husband and wife" or civil partners. A court will look at a couple's living arrangements to judge the validity of any claim.

In England, co-habitees have no such rights and the issue is contentious, with a powerful religious lobby set against it.

Chris Mackie