An Italian business mogul loved South African summers so much that he bought two multimillion-rand homes in his girlfriend’s name in one of Cape Town’s upmarket suburbs.
But a year later the relationship turned frosty and litigation between the erstwhile lovers heated up.
In 2016, Giancarlo de Filippo, who was 79, sued Alessandra Micillo, also Italian, in the high court in Cape Town to recover money from the sale of one of the properties. He also sought to compel her to sell the other property and give him the money.
De Filippo died in 2018 while the litigation was pending. Now the protracted legal skirmish over his Constantia homes — worth a combined R30.7m based on their municipal valuations — has left his son Manfredi and Micillo drained.
After De Filippo’s death, sole heir Manfredi substituted his father in the court fight. The high court in Cape Town dismissed Micillo’s bid to have the substitution set aside last month.
The two properties in Cape Town were a donation to me to ensure me a secure future and are in my name. We were living together as husband and wife until he decided to leave me. I have been gravely prejudiced both emotionally and financially
— Alessandra Micillo
Judge Nobahle Mangcu-Lockwood also slapped Micillo with the legal costs.
Speaking from Italy, Micillo told the Sunday Times this week her lawyers were still considering the judgment. “The two properties in Cape Town were a donation to me to ensure me a secure future and are in my name. We were living together as husband and wife until he decided to leave me,” said Micillo.
She said the litigation was taking a toll on her. “I have been gravely prejudiced both emotionally and financially by this protracted litigation since December 2016. My local assets have all been frozen by an anti-dissipation court order since May 2017 and I had to make do with an allowance which does not cover my living expenses.
“The result is that I also could not and cannot afford the proper legal representation required in this matter. I am not a South African resident or citizen and it was never intended that I should be removed from my family for such a long time.”
Micillo said De Fillippo had been convicted in Italy of share manipulation and would have faced heavy fines and imprisonment if he had not died.
She added: “Moreover, he also instituted the same claims in Monaco, in October 2016, against me as is now the subject matter of these court proceedings, and the court there decided in my favour in October 2018 already.
“The dramatic effects on my health are hypertension, sinus tachycardia and depression with continuous panic attacks, and I am under medication of course.”
Manfredi said the litigation also affected him. “Mrs Micillo has made this case as acrimonious and vexatious as possible, as evinced by (judge) Mangcu-Lockwood in her recent judgment,” he said.
“She has quite expertly employed all tools at her disposal to delay justice, for which she was previously declared in contempt of court. I look forward to seeing justice done.”
According to court papers, De Filippo and Micillo had a verbal agreement in 2013 that he would buy a property in SA and register it in her name — though it “would not be a gift or a donation”. They lived “together as husband and wife” from 2009 until 2014 when the relationship ended.
“[They] would enjoy the use of the properties during the South African summer season for a few years, whereafter it would be sold and the proceeds of the sale repatriated to [De Filippo’s] bank account in Europe,” the court documents read.
The condition was that if the romantic relationship ended, the property would be sold and De Filippo would get his money back.
In June 2013, De Filippo bought the first Constantia property for R11.5m. It needed refurbishment so he bought a second one six months later, also in Micillo’s name, for R14m.
By July 2015, according to court papers, De Filippo had spent nearly R5.5m renovating the first property. It was sold for R12.6m in 2015 — seven months after De Filippo and Micillo separated.
De Filippo accused Micillo of pocketing the money and sought an order to compel her to give him the money and sell the second property.
This case was the death of my father, and I have continued it at substantial expense, both financial and emotional
— Manfredi de Filippo
In December 2017, the high court granted De Filippo an interdict against Micillo, preventing her spending the money from the sale of the first property and protecting the second property. She was compelled to reveal her bank accounts.
When Micillo filed an application to rescind the application, De Filippo brought a contempt of court application against her.
In her 2017 ruling, acting judge Tanya Golden found Micillo in contempt of court and fined her R50,000 which was suspended for two years.
Golden also ordered that the proceeds from the sale of De Filippo’s property be held in a trust pending the main application. Micillo’s lawyers were ordered to pay R34,000 monthly towards De Filippo’s living expenses.
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