Saudi Princess Says She Can’t Afford to Fight Ex in Mansion Case
(Bloomberg) — A Saudi princess embroiled in a long-running fight with her ex-husband over a $33 million Beverly Hills property says she’s a single mother of six and at this point can’t even afford a lawyer.
“I am exhausted both financially, emotionally and psychologically,” Princess Fahdah Husain Abdulrahman Al Athel said in a filing about a seven-year battle over repairs to their 2.3-acre compound. She asked the judge to make her former husband report any sale of the 0.9-hectare property “to avoid any possible abuse” of his legal advantage in the case.
“I am not able to overcome my ex-husband’s power and financial capabilities,” Princess Fahdah said of Prince Faisal bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, son of the late Saudi King Abdullah.
The prince sued in 2018 seeking to stop her from selling the property until they decided how to split up the proceeds, and the court ruled in his favor in March. She said in last week’s filing in Delaware Chancery Court that she would represent herself and can’t afford to travel to hearings because the prince hasn’t honored his financial commitments.
It’s the latest skirmish in the battle royal over the property, which the couple bought for $16.8 million in 2011 as a vacation home. Some of their neighbors at the time included actor Mark Wahlberg, Platinum Equity Chief Executive Officer Tom Gores and onetime San Francisco Giants home run king Barry Bonds. Now the California dream home has turned into a recurring legal nightmare.
Jason Jowers, a lawyer for Prince Faisal, declined to comment on the case. The prince has told Vice Chancellor Paul Fioravanti Jr. that the property is facing a potential “fire-sale auction” because the princess hasn’t paid her half of the tax bill as required by a settlement agreement, with an April deadline looming.
Princess Fahdah didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment on the case.
The property boasts two Italian-style villas with more than 18 bedrooms and 28 bathrooms. It is owned by a Delaware company set up by the couple and is valued on a real estate website at about $33 million. But it has fallen into disrepair and can’t be sold in its current condition, according to court filings.
“The landscaping is mostly dead, the pool is empty and the water lines emptied,” the princess’s former attorney said in a court filing. “Much of the carpeting throughout the property was stained, damaged, or generally unusable.”
The former couple has been jousting for years over responsibility for repairs and the power to hire contractors to start work. In 2022 they agreed to settle the dispute over the property, at 76 Beverly Park Lane, so it could be mended.
But the prince said his ex hadn’t paid her share of the repair bill, homeowner association fees and taxes, and asked Fioravanti to put him in charge of the restoration. The judge agreed.
The princess said her financial difficulties are tied to her status as a “single mother of 6 children. I am taking care of my children with almost no involvement of their father.” For those reasons, she told the court, “I am not in a financial position to allow me to retain another attorney in this matter. I hope this court will understand my situation.”
The case is Prince Faisal bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud v. Princess Fahdah Husain Abdulrahman Al Athel, 2018-0364, Delaware Chancery Court (Wilmington).
–With assistance from Fahad Abuljadayel.
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