Businessman, supermodel ex-wife’s $8M lawsuit concludes after 14 years

Supermodel Pham Thi Ngoc Thuy at the first instance trial on Sep. 20, 2023. Photo by Thien An

On Monday afternoon, after a week of deliberations, the High People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City dismissed their appeals and upheld the original verdict by a HCMC court requiring the assets to be split equally. The judgment, effective immediately, brings an end to a litigation process that lasted 14 years.

Neither litigant was present at the court, and instead sent representatives and lawyers.

According to the judges, An and Thuy had appealed the initial verdict but failed to present new evidence. They had no prenuptial agreement on shared and individual assets, and therefore the first instance verdict that the disputed assets were marital property that should be equally divided was justified, they ruled.

“An’s appeal to divide the assets in a 60% to 40% ratio in his favor was unsupported by evidence of greater contribution,” the judgment stated.

Therefore, 15 marital assets of the ex-spouses, including nine apartments and a villa in HCMC, shares in two companies and three amounts of cash, should be equally divided.

Regarding other monetary and asset claims, the court declined them due to a lack of substantiation.

An, 61, married Thuy, 44, in the U.S. in 2006. The couple, who have two children, divorced in 2008 in a California court.

An filed a lawsuit against Thuy in 2010, demanding that his ex-wife return 39 Vietnam-based assets, including stocks, cars, dozens of apartments, land plots, and villas in major projects in HCMC and the coastal city of Phan Thiet registered in her name.

He claimed the assets were bought with money he had earned before marrying Thuy, and he perforce had to register them in her name because he was a foreigner.

He had sued for transferring ownership of the assets to their two daughters.

Thuy claimed as marital assets they should be equally divided between them.

In November last year the HCMC People’s Court had ruled they were “joint assets” and each was entitled to half ownership.

The court also rejected An’s claim that Thuy had bought the assets with money he “had made before marriage” and subsequently “transferred to her” so that they could purchase them, citing lack of proof.

Both then appealed, with An stating that the court order to equally divide the assets with Thuy was “unconvincing.”

It “did not take all of the proof into account” and failed to “fully and objectively assess the evidence,” which “severely affected his legal rights and benefits,” he said.

He petitioned the High People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City to consider the case “objectively” and “based on laws.”