If Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza succeeds in winning an upcoming court battle to seize control of a $2.7 billion Bermuda-based trust from his son, then his wife is set to get a large part of the fortune, a court heard yesterday.

Alan Boyle, the lawyer for the Baron's son Georg, called on the Bermuda Court of Appeal to uphold a previous judgment admitting legal documents as evidence.

He claimed that the Baroness could be a main beneficiary of the Bermuda trust if the Baron's suit is successful. She is also part of the upcoming civil suit and the previous legal documents will be an important part of Georg's defence.

He alleged the Baron and his wife, Spanish beauty queen Carmen, had failed to obey an earlier court order to produce the documents. The documents relate to the setting up of a separate trust for the Baron's art collection, one of the largest in private hands, until he sold half of it to the Spanish Government for $350 million in 1993.

The art trust was set up in 1986 and the disputed documents relate to the legal advice given during the years prior to 1993. During that time the Baroness became a beneficiary of the art trust.

Meanwhile, the Baron had set up a Bermuda-based trust to hold the industrial conglomerate which is a source of the family's wealth. He put his son Georg in charge of the trust and is now suing him to regain control.

Georg's lawyers claim the documents under dispute form an important part of the evidence in their defence in the upcoming suit. A Supreme Court judge had previously ruled that the documents could be used as evidence. The Baron's lawyer, Michael Crystal, is appealing that ruling.

Mr. Crystal had previously argued the documents were protected from disclosure because they were privileged communications between the couple and their lawyer at the time.

He also argued that she was not part of the upcoming court case.

The part of the collection sold to Spain is housed in Madrid in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum and might become part of the dispute if the Bermuda trust in dispute is dissolved as the Baron wants.

The main asset of the Bermuda trust is the Monte Carlo-based Thyssen-Bornemisza Group. The Court of Appeal hearing is a preliminary skirmish to the full civil suit, expected to begin later this year.

Q.C. Alan Boyle