Julia Haart won her divorce from Italian businessman Silvio Scaglia by default judgment in January 2025, and the Julia Haart divorce settlement gave her a 50% stake in the couple’s business Freedom Holding, power of attorney over Scaglia’s other 50%, the couple’s $65 million Tribeca penthouse, $7.4 million in unpaid management fees, half the proceeds of a Kees Van Dongen painting, half of Scaglia’s post-filing cash withdrawals from the shared businesses, and 90% of her legal fees. An appellate court affirmed the divorce itself in April 2026 but sent the financial pieces back to the trial judge to explain how he arrived at them.
What Haart Was Awarded
New York Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey H. Pearlman signed the default judgment on January 17, 2025. The financial terms were laid out as follows.1NYCourts.gov. Scaglia v. Haart, 2026 NY Slip Op 02164
- A 50% interest in Freedom Holding, Inc. and its subsidiaries, including Elite World Group, plus power of attorney over Scaglia’s remaining 50%. In practical terms, that gave Haart unilateral control of the company.2Page Six. Julia Haart Takes Control of Business, $56 Million Home in Stunning Divorce Win
- The couple’s 16-room triplex penthouse at 70 Vestry Street in Tribeca, valued at $65 million.2Page Six. Julia Haart Takes Control of Business, $56 Million Home in Stunning Divorce Win
- $7.4 million in unpaid management fees covering 2019 through 2021.3NY Daily News. Julia Haart Divorce Settlement
- 50% of the roughly $2.97 million Scaglia received for selling a Kees Van Dongen painting owned by Freedom Holding.4Yahoo Entertainment. My Unorthodox Life’s Julia Haart Declares Victory
- Half of the cash Scaglia had withdrawn from the shared businesses since the divorce filing, with the exact amount to be determined by the court.2Page Six. Julia Haart Takes Control of Business, $56 Million Home in Stunning Divorce Win
- 90% of Haart’s legal fees, with the dollar figure set after a further hearing.1NYCourts.gov. Scaglia v. Haart, 2026 NY Slip Op 02164
Haart was reinstated as interim CEO of Elite World Models after the ruling.3NY Daily News. Julia Haart Divorce Settlement
Why Scaglia Lost by Default
The judgment came as a sanction rather than a negotiated deal. Justice Pearlman struck Scaglia’s pleadings after finding that Scaglia had repeatedly violated court orders — refusing to turn over ordered discovery, failing to pay court-ordered counsel and forensic expert fees, and skipping conferences.1NYCourts.gov. Scaglia v. Haart, 2026 NY Slip Op 02164
The disengagement had been building. In 2023, Judge Douglas E. Hoffman ordered Scaglia to pay Haart roughly $300,000 by January 11, 2024. When the money did not arrive and Scaglia did not appear in court on June 5, 2024, Judge Hoffman issued an arrest warrant, sentenced Scaglia to 20 days in jail for contempt, and ordered his passport seized and his driver’s license revoked. Scaglia had reportedly left for Milan by that point, and his attorney had withdrawn a month earlier citing an “irreparable breakdown” in the relationship.5Page Six. Silvio Scaglia to Be Jailed for 20 Days for Contempt
What the Appeals Court Changed
Scaglia, represented on appeal by Alexander Sakin, challenged the January 2025 order. On April 9, 2026, the Appellate Division, First Department, issued a unanimous decision that split the ruling in half.1NYCourts.gov. Scaglia v. Haart, 2026 NY Slip Op 02164
The divorce itself stood. The appellate panel held that Justice Pearlman had “providently exercised his discretion” in striking Scaglia’s pleadings given his repeated violations. What did not stand was the reasoning behind the money. New York’s Domestic Relations Law requires a judge to set forth the factors considered and the reasons for equitable distribution decisions, and the appellate court found the record “lacks the calculation or basis” for the $7.4 million management fee award.1NYCourts.gov. Scaglia v. Haart, 2026 NY Slip Op 02164
The panel sent the case back to Justice Pearlman for written findings on three items: the basis for the $7.4 million management fee award (to be handled through an inquest), the 50% ownership interest in Freedom Holding, and the 50% share of the Van Dongen painting proceeds. Any management fees or painting proceeds already paid to Haart were ordered into escrow pending those findings. The powers of attorney over Scaglia’s business interests stayed in force during the remand.1NYCourts.gov. Scaglia v. Haart, 2026 NY Slip Op 02164
The Penthouse Sale
Haart listed the 70 Vestry Street penthouse for $65 million in November 2025. It sold in February 2026 for $57 million through Adam Modlin of the Modlin Group.6CityRealty. Manhattan Sales: Julia Haart’s Penthouse at 70 Vestry Public records do not indicate how the proceeds were distributed.7The Real Deal. Netflix’s Julia Haart Sells Penthouse at 70 Vestry for $57M
Related Cases Still in Play
The default divorce did not resolve everything between Haart and Scaglia. A separate fraud action Haart brought against Scaglia had been partially dismissed at the trial level, but on October 3, 2024, the Appellate Division, First Department, reinstated several claims. The court found it was reasonable for Haart to have relied on Scaglia’s assurances about her ownership stake through June 2020, and it revived a fraudulent concealment claim tied to the existence of Freedom Holding preferred stock, along with an aiding-and-abetting claim against Scaglia’s accountants.8FindLaw. Haart v. Scaglia, Docket No. 2710
A parallel Delaware corporate ruling had gone the other way. On May 27, 2022, Vice Chancellor Morgan T. Zurn found that Haart did not technically own 50% of Freedom Holding because she held none of the preferred shares, which meant she could not block her firing as CEO of Elite World Group.9Rolling Stone. Timeline of the Divorce in My Unorthodox Life The New York matrimonial court reached its 50% ownership conclusion in a different posture — after Scaglia had defaulted — and that conclusion is among the items now back before Justice Pearlman for a written basis.