Woman wins £3.5m from husband who 'refused to pay a penny'

Published on Wednesday 29 April 2009 22:41

A WEALTHY fisherman who allegedly refused to pay his wife a penny has been ordered to give her nearly £3.5 million in a divorce settlement.

Ann Watt told a court that her husband, James Watt, 53, a hugely successful trawlerman, had claimed to be worth up to 12 million when they separated, but had said she would get nothing from him.

Later, he and their son, also James Watt, 26, a former Scottish entrepreneur of the year, had "tried to force her" to settle for 1.25 million.

In yesterday's judgment, Lady Smith ruled that Mrs Watt, a teacher, of McKenzie Crescent, Peterhead, was entitled to a fair share – just less than half – of the couple's assets of 8.8 million.

Taking account of property already held by Mrs Watt, the judge said she should be paid 3,369,000 – 2 million immediately and the balance within six months.

The Court of Session in Edinburgh heard that Mr and Mrs Watt married in 1977 and had one child. They split up in 2002, and Lady Smith said it was plain that their marriage had broken down irretrievably.

Mr Watt, of Rosehearty, Aberdeenshire, had worked as a fisherman before the marriage, gaining his skipper's ticket at Fraserburgh College.

He joined a partnership, Mewstead, in 2001, for which two "super trawlers", the Ocean Quest and the Ocean Venture, were built in Spain.

Lady Smith said Mewstead had proved to be a very successful business, and profits in 2003 to 2007 had ranged from just under 1 million to more than 4 million a year.

Mrs Watt had qualified as a teacher around the time of the marriage and had been keen to return to work after the birth of her son, but her husband discouraged her. "He told her he was earning plenty of money for both of them," said Lady Smith.