Billionaire Gerry Harvey has settled a court case with a dying woman he was trying to evict from a home she shared with her late de facto husband, the businessman’s friend of 50 years.
Peggy Luker was due to face the retailer at a hearing on Monday, but was unable to pursue the case because her health had seriously deteriorated.
Terms of the settlement cannot be disclosed, but a representative for Mr Harvey, 82, confirmed to the Daily Mail Australia that the legal action was over.
“Mr. Harvey is very happy that the matter has been resolved and wishes Peggy Luker all the best for the future,” the representative said.
“No further comment will be made as the terms of the agreement are confidential.”
Billionaire Gerry Harvey was trying to evict a dying woman from a home she shared with her late de facto husband, who was a friend of the businessman for 50 years. Mr. Harvey, co-founder of Harvey Norman, is pictured with his wife Katie Page.
Peggy Luker lived rent-free on a property in Kurrajong, 75km north-west of Sydney, for eight years with her long-time partner Garry Dent, until he died aged 80 in 2017. Ms Luker and Mr .dent appear in the photo.
Ms Luker’s lawyer, Chris Crawley, told Daily Mail Australia that his client had executed a “certificate of notification of death at home”.
“Unfortunately, Peggy Luker was required for cross-examination and was unable to proceed with the case because her health had seriously deteriorated and she was re-admitted to the hospital last weekend,” Crawley said.
Ms Luker lived rent-free in a property in Kurrajong, 75km north-west of Sydney, with her long-time partner Garry Dent for eight years until he died aged 80 in 2017.
Dent had worked as a contractor for Harvey for 15 years before his death and Harvey co-founder Norman, now worth an estimated $2.83 billion, delivered a eulogy at his funeral.
Mrs. Luker had claimed that she believed until Mr. Dent’s death that the house they shared belonged to his partner, but shortly after the funeral, Mr. Harvey told her to “move in and get the pension”.
She fought an eviction notice issued on behalf of Mr Harvey by suing G Harvey Nominees Pty Ltd, the trust listed as the owner of the property, in the NSW High Court.
Mr. Harvey had asked Mr. Dent to help him subdivide 100 acres of land (pictured) that he bought with his first wife in 1972 and wanted to sell into 15 individual lots.
Luker was terrified that she would be thrown out of the house and feared that she would end up living on the streets.
Mr. Harvey, while sympathetic to Ms. Luker’s circumstances, said in an affidavit that he never gave the house to Mr. Dent and that he wished to sell the property.
Ms. Luker said she learned that the property was still in the trustee’s name only after Mr. Dent’s death, at the same time that Mr. Harvey said he learned that Ms. Luker believed it was from she.
After years of dispute, Harvey visited the property in June 2020 in an attempt to convince Luker to move in, The Age newspaper reported last year.
According to Mr. Harvey’s affidavit, he told Ms. Luker, “Maybe you can get on a housing commission or something.” Are you sure you have a plan B?
Ms. Luker had a failed kidney transplant eight years ago and developed skin cancer due to the drugs she took to stop organ rejection.
Doctors told the now 68-year-old that there was nothing more they could do to prevent the cancer from spreading to other parts of her body.
Ms Luker said Gerry Harvey told his partner Garry Dent that the couple could live in this property rent-free and then take a share of the proceeds when it was sold.
Ms. Luker testified in an affidavit on her behalf that Mr. Dent was a real estate developer who had been friends with Mr. Harvey for some 50 years.
“The deceased worked for the Harvey Norman group of companies and in the general interests of Gerry’s various corporations until the age of 80 when he died unexpectedly,” the document says.
Mrs. Luker and Mr. Dent, who had three children from a previous marriage, had lived together for 23 years and, to their knowledge, he had died without a will.
According to his affidavit, Mr. Dent had resolved a problem for Mr. Harvey in 2001 when poor access to the parking lot of a Harvey Norman store in Penrith was causing the business to lose money.
Harvey then asked Dent to help him subdivide 100 acres of land that he had purchased with his first wife in 1972 and now wanted to sell into 15 individual lots.
The land at Kurrajong had a 28-hectare sanctuary in the middle that was fenced off to protect wildlife and featured nature walks and a cycle track.
An agent acting on behalf of Gerry Harvey sent Ms. Luker this eviction notice in June 2020. “There is no written lease or license between you and the landlord regarding your occupancy of the property.”
According to Ms. Luker’s affidavit, Mr. Dent informed Mr. Harvey that he could attract buyers by building a luxury home on one of the largest vacant blocks.
The old friends reportedly agreed that Mr. Harvey would spend $800,000 on that house, which Mr. Dent and Mrs. Luker would live in and maintain until all the lots were sold.
When the first house on Patterson Lane sold, the couple would keep the difference between $1.3 million and the sale price, according to Luker.
Mr. Harvey stated in his affidavit that there was no legal agreement to share the proceeds of the sale and Mr. Dent never complained about the situation.
A spokesman for Mr Harvey told the Daily Mail Australia: ‘Mr. Harvey is very pleased that the matter has been resolved and he wishes Peggy Luker all the best for the future.
When the house sold for $1,700,000 approximately four years after it was built, Mr. Harvey built another house on a smaller block for Mr. Dent and Mrs. Luker instead of paying the couple $400,000.
In her affidavit, Ms. Luker said that Mr. Harvey never raised Mr. Dent’s salary from $5,000 a month in 15 years, but her partner told her, “You won’t take a raise, don’t forget, we have the House”.
Ms Luker said Mr Harvey called to express sympathy when Mr Dent died and delivered a eulogy at his funeral at Trinity Grammar School Chapel in Summer Hill.
Two weeks later, according to her affidavit, Ms. Luker called Mr. Harvey to “clarify the situation in the house” and he told her that the original alleged deal was “foolish.”
Mr. Harvey allegedly told Ms. Luker that Mr. Dent “was not her responsibility and that she should move out and receive the pension.”
Ms Luker said Mr Harvey called to express sympathy when Mr Dent died and delivered a eulogy at his funeral at Trinity Grammar School Chapel in Summer Hill.
Mr. Harvey, “representing Harvey Norman where Garry worked for 15 years”, is listed as one of two speakers who offered eulogies at Mr. Dent’s funeral.
Ms. Luker stated in her affidavit that she tried to resolve all of her issues with Mr. Harvey for three years before receiving a notice to vacate the property on June 18, 2020.
‘You have occupied the property rent-free as an at-will tenant,’ that letter said. ‘The Owner requires You to vacate the Property no later than 10:00 am on August 20, 2020.’
Harvey is chairman of Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd, which owns retail giants Harvey Norman, Domayne and Joyce Mayne. He is also a noted racehorse owner and breeder.
Ms Luker sued Mr Harvey in the New South Wales High Court after he tried to evict her from this property at 467 Greggs Road, Kurrajong, where she had lived for over ten years.
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