The husband of a Victorian MP who died of cancer last year has denied telling her mother he would evict her, a court has heard.
Labor MP Fiona Richardson and ALP’s Stephen Newnham were married for 17 years before Ms Richardson died last year.
Since then, Mr Newnham and his mother-in-law Veronica Power have reportedly been locked in a bitter dispute revolving around a $2.8million property in Alphington, Melbourne, where the three lived together.
Labor MP Fiona Richardson (pictured) and ALP’s Stephen Newnham were married for 17 years before Ms Richardson died
Late Labor MP Fiona Richardson, who tragically died last year, is pictured with her mother Veronica Power
Earlier this year, Mr Newnham applied to the Supreme Court to lift an order that would prevent him from making any decisions regarding the property without Ms Power being told, according to the Herald Sun.
Ms Power filed a counter-claim in June, claiming she and her son-in-law had an ‘irretrievably broken down’ relationship which meant they could not live together anymore.
The court heard she asked the property be held in a trust and whatever it was sold for could be split between them.
The other option was Mr Newnham repay her investment plus interest, the court heard.
Since Mr Newnham and his mother-in-law Veronica Power have been locked in a bitter dispute revolving around a $2.8million Alphington property where the three lived together
After Ms Richardson’s diagnosis in September 2016, Ms Power claimed her relationship with her son-in-law began to deteriorate.
Her writ claimed in 2017, Mr Newnham told her: ‘The day after Fiona dies, the next day, you will be out of this house … I want you out.’
However in Mr Newnham’s latest defence lodged to the Supreme Court he denied making the alleged comments.
He said he was ‘ready, willing and able’ to abide by Ms Power’s deal, according to court documents.
Mr Newnham (pictured) and his mother-in-law Veronica Power have reportedly been locked in a bitter dispute revolving around a $2.8million property
Mr Newnham also told the court Ms Power had left the home ‘of her own volition’ and was living in a property she owns in Blackburn.
He asked the court to dismiss his mother-in-law’s claim.
He told the court it was ‘unconscionable’ for Ms Power to ask for the sale of the home as she knew he and Ms Richardson had based their family’s long-term financial situation around the arrangement.