A High Court judge has dismissed a landmark legal claim by a divorcee who argued that a WhatsApp message from her ex-husband constituted a binding contract gifting her his share of their £1.5 million family home.
The Failed Claim Over a Tufnell Park Home
Artist Hsiao Mei-Lin, 54, took her case to the High Court, asserting that a text from her ex-husband, financier Audun Gudmundsson, 54, formed a formal agreement. The message, sent during divorce negotiations, stated he could "sign over my share of Southcote road" to her if she took full responsibility for their children's care.
Ms Mei-Lin, a Taiwan-born British citizen and Royal Academy School of Arts graduate, insisted that because the message appeared under his name on her phone, it should be considered a 'written and signed' contract under the law. The property in question is located in the affluent north London area of Tufnell Park.
Judge's Ruling on Digital 'Signatures'
Mr Justice Cawson delivered a decisive ruling, throwing out her arguments. He stated the evidence fell 'well short' of proving Mr Gudmundsson intended to relinquish his 50% share of the house.
The judge drew a critical distinction about digital identification. He explained that the sender's name in a WhatsApp chat header is 'analogous to the email address' added by a service provider. "It is not, as I see it, part of the actual message itself," he said, "but merely provides a mechanism... to allow the sender... to be identified."
Consequently, he found it was 'incidental to the message' and that there could not have been the 'necessary authenticating intent' for it to serve as a legal signature. He also concluded the message's content did not show an 'unequivocal and immediate' intention to give up the property interest.
Bankruptcy Complications and Final Orders
The couple's divorce was finalised in 2020, with Ms Mei-Lin initially awarded the house. However, Mr Gudmundsson was declared bankrupt one week earlier, owing £2.5 million. This meant his half-share in the property fell into his bankruptcy estate, managed by trustees Maxine Reid-Roberts and Brian Burke.
Following a 2024 hearing, a judge declared Ms Mei-Lin owned only 50% of the home. The trustees successfully disputed that the WhatsApp messages validly disposed of the bankrupt's interest.
As a result, Mr Justice Cawson ordered Ms Mei-Lin to vacate the property. He significantly reduced the time she had to leave, setting a new deadline of 31 July 2027. She had previously been given until 2032.
This case serves as a crucial legal test, clarifying the limitations of casual digital communication in forming formal property agreements under English law.
