Italian court suspends hearings in Agnelli family inheritance case

MILAN (Reuters) - An Italian court on Tuesday suspended hearings in an inheritance dispute dividing the Agnelli family, the founders of the Fiat car company, pending rulings on two related legal cases in Switzerland.

The case being heard in Turin stems from the estate of Gianni Agnelli, the celebrated Fiat boss who was a symbol of Italy's post-war economic boom and died two decades ago.

It pits Agnelli's daughter Margherita, who inherited 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion), against three of her eight children including her eldest, John Elkann, the chairman of Ferrari and Stellantis.

The court in Turin approved a request from lawyers representing John Elkann, his brother Lapo and sister Ginevra to pause proceedings while the Swiss cases in Geneva and Thun were still active, sources with knowledge of the matter said.

The Italian court acknowledged that future rulings in Swiss cases could be accepted in Italy, including if they deem the existing succession agreements legally valid, the sources added.

However, legal sources close to Margherita Agnelli also took heart from the decision, saying that the judges in Turin had confirmed that the case she had brought fell within the Italian jurisdiction.

They argue that Italian judges are not bound to uphold Swiss decisions and are hoping for a ruling in the Swiss cases by the end of the year.

In a dispute that has riven one of Italy's elite families, Margherita is fighting to overturn agreements she signed in 2004 after her father's death in order to eventually benefit her five children from a second marriage, sources close to her say.

Should the Turin court decide in her favour, Margherita, who is Gianni Agnelli's only surviving child, could stake a claim to half of her late mother's estate and a share in the Elkann family business.

The mother died in 2019 and one of the elements in dispute is whether she was resident in Switzerland or Italy in later life. Margherita also contends that her father had hidden assets not included in her inheritance agreement.

(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari and Emilio Parodi; Writing by Keith Weir; Editing by Christina Fincher)