Sally Ridge has won her High Court bid to avoid bankruptcy and will continue her claim for half her ex-partner Adam Parore's business.
The pair's long-running legal battle resumed at the High Court in Auckland yesterday with the former Black Cap's Small Business Accounting (SBA) taking bankruptcy proceedings against the socialite over $100,000 she owes him.
Ms Ridge lost her legal battle to gain half of Mr Parore's business after trial last year and she was ordered to pay the six-figure costs.
But today, she tasted some success with Associate Judge Tony Christiansen granting a stay of the bankruptcy proceedings.
The judgement paves the way for Ms Ridge to take the original case to the Court of Appeal, where her lawyers will again stake her claim to half of Mr Parore's business.
At the hearing yesterday her lawyer Paul Dale told the court his client was not penniless but all her money was tied up in the $2 million property in which she was living with her new partner Warren Fenning.
He said she had equity of more than $1 million.
"She's not insolvent ... there's plenty of money on the table but no liquidity," Mr Dale said.
He said Mr Parore's bankruptcy bid was "presumably" to force her out of her Herne Bay home.
Ms Ridge had been forced to look for a rental property but had been unable to find anywhere big enough or within her budget, her lawyer said.
Through Ms Ridge's affidavit, the court heard some explosive accusations about her former partner but those were subject to suppression orders imposed by Judge Christiansen.
She claimed because of Mr Parore's actions, she has had to approach a government department for support.
Mr Parore's lawyer Zane Kennedy said there was no reason she could not sell the home, pay her debtors and use the remaining funds to buy a new property.
But Judge Christiansen said that could be determined after the appeal.
"It does not appear to the court any prejudice would be caused if SBA is required to wait until the outcome of the appeal before it is paid. Interest will accrue on the costs judgment sum until payment is made," he said.
Mr Kennedy urged the judge to throw out Ms Ridge's appeal before it made its way to the higher jurisdiction due to lack of merit, but Judge Christiansen said he was "not prepared to consider that the appeal is hopeless".
Ms Ridge is also being pursued by the BNZ for nearly $300,000 and will appear in the High Court again on that matter later this month.