Veteran public relations manager Ted Thomas needs to give a fuller account of how he came to spend nearly $2 million of famed war correspondent Clare Hollingworth's money, a court heard yesterday.
Mr Thomas, whose real name is Thomas Edward Juson, contends that he has already given a full accounting of how the money was spent. He is questioning Ms Hollingworth's mental capacity and ability to run the case against him.
Ms Hollingworth, whose family lodged the suit on her behalf, is suing Mr Thomas in a bid to find out what happened to $1.18 million she says he owes to her from a period between 2003 and last year, when he was looking after her affairs and had access to her bank accounts.
She rose to fame after she reported one of the biggest scoops in journalism history - the 1939 German invasion of Poland that triggered the second world war.
Alexander Stock, for Ms Hollingworth, told the court that Mr Thomas' efforts to explain where the money went were inadequate and in some cases unbelievable. When he accepted control of the 94-year-old's affairs, Mr Stock argued, Mr Thomas had taken on the position of a fiduciary and needed to keep records accordingly.
'It doesn't matter, whether he accepted the role in a friendly manner or not,' he said. 'The fact she handed him the authority does not mean he can do anything he wants with her money.'