Does this man stand a chance in court?

My friend and her husband owned property.(both names were on the deed) Her husband (not the wife) tried to contract partial ownership to another man( the woman never signed the contract) The man paid some money but never put his name on the deed. Years later the couple broke up (the husband was a crook), then a few years later the property was sold and the wife received a settlement for the property. The third party man is trying to sue the woman for the money she received. Does he stand a chance of wiping her clean?