Ex-wife of Harold Hamm may pursue appeal against $1bn divorce settlement

Sue Ann Arnall, the ex-wife of Harold Hamm, may go ahead with her appeal against the court ruling which she found unfair, despite the fact that she cashed a handwritten cheque from the US oil baron, according to a well-known matrimonial attorney.

Jonathan Wolfe, one of the leading matrimonial lawyers in the US, told IB Times UK "This may not be the end of the story."

"It depends on how the check was presented. If it was simply sent to comply with the trial court decision, her depositing the check may not necessarily end her appeal," he elaborated.

"What is clear is that she will be in a far better financial position to support herself and fund her litigation if that is the path she chooses."

Hamm's lawyer earlier said that Arnall deposited a handwritten $975m (£646.2m, €825.7m) divorce cheque in an Oklahoma City bank. The move from Arnall was seen as the end of an epic divorce battle worth billions of dollars.

Arnall was awarded by the trial court about $1bn in cash and assets from the marital estate, but she appealed the ruling which she found to be unfair.

Hamm, who has been estimated by Forbes magazine to be worth about $7.8bn, was earlier happy with the settlement, having called it "fair and equitable". He later called the ruling "erroneous and inequitable" given his estimated fortunes of $19bn have declined by half due to the oil price slide.

He also filed an appeal against the earlier settlement, saying the value of his Continental shares has fallen by more than half to $9.3bn. He owns a 68% stake in the company.

Hamm has already handed over two homes, a ranch and other assets worth several million dollars to his ex-wife. The cheque represents the entire remaining balance of what Hamm owes Arnall based on the November ruling, including interest.