Addleman v Lambie Trustee Limited - [2020] NZCA 194

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF NEW ZEALAND

I TE KŌTI PĪRA O AOTEAROA

CA545/2017
[2020] NZCA 194

BETWEEN	PRUDENCE ANNE ADDLEMAN Appellant
AND	LAMBIE TRUSTEE LIMITED Respondent

Counsel:	A S Ross QC and R A Rose for Appellant D A T Chambers QC for Respondent
Judgment: (On the papers)	28 May 2020 at 4 pm

JUDGMENT (No 2) OF COOPER J ON STAY

AAll documents in the respondent’s possession or power relating to the Lambie Trust in the categories of (a) financial statements and (b) minutes of meetings required to be provided by this Court’s substantive judgment of 4 October 2019 must now be provided within 10 working days. Any privilege issues may be dealt with by appropriate redactions.
B The appellant is entitled to costs.
C If costs cannot be agreed, memoranda are to be filed by the appellant within 10 working days from the date of this judgment and by the respondent within 10 working days after receipt of the appellant’s submissions.

____________________________________________________________________

REASONS

This Court’s judgment of 4 October 2019 directed that the respondent was to provide the appellant with all documents in its possession or power relating to the Lambie Trust in three categories.[1] The categories were (a) financial statements, (b) minutes of meetings and (c) any legal opinions and other advice obtained by the Trustees and funded by the Trust. The Court also required provision of (d) an affidavit sworn by a person having the relevant knowledge explaining, in the case of any documents in categories (a) to (c) that are no longer available, what efforts have been made to locate the missing documents, what is thought to have become of them and when.
[1]Addleman v Lambie Trustee Ltd [2019] NZCA 480, (2019) NZTR 29-016 [Substantive judgment] at [64].
By memorandum dated 16 March 2020, counsel for the appellant seeks orders requiring the respondent to supply the documents in categories (a) and (b), the affidavit (d), and a full transaction list setting out all financial transactions since the date of the most recent set of financial statements and the date upon which the list is supplied. The appellant’s application is opposed by the respondent.
On 3 December 2019, I issued a judgment granting an application for stay dated 18 November 2019, made by the respondent after seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.[2] The orders I made were as follows:
[2]Addleman v Lambie Trustee Ltd [2019] NZCA 609 [Stay judgment].
A The stay of execution sought by the respondent in its application dated 18 November 2019 is granted. The stay is to apply until either the Supreme Court refuses leave to appeal, or determines the appeal.

B The stay is granted subject to the conditions that:
(a)This Court’s judgment must be sealed by the respondent on or before Thursday 12 December 2019.
(b) The respondent must refund to Mrs Addleman the sum of $47,238.68 that she paid following the High Court’s judgment, on or before Thursday 12 December 2019.

The…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

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Details

Case: [2020] NZCA 194
Decision Date: 28 May 2020 at 4 pm

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Prudence Anne Addleman brought an appeal against Lambie Trustee Limited to the Court of Appeal of New Zealand. Addleman sought orders for Lambie Trustee to provide her with documents relating to the Lambie Trust, specifically financial statements and minutes of meetings. Lambie Trustee opposed the application. This case was a follow up to the substantive judgment made on 4 October 2019, where the Court of Appeal ordered Lambie Trustee to provide Addleman with documents in three categories, including financial statements and minutes of meetings. The Court of Appeal also required an affidavit to be provided explaining the efforts made to locate any missing documents. The respondent applied for a stay of execution of the substantive judgment, which was granted by the Court of Appeal on 3 December 2019, subject to certain conditions.

The legal issues the Court of Appeal had to decide were whether the stay granted by the Court of Appeal should apply to the orders made in the substantive judgment, and whether the appellant was entitled to costs. The Court of Appeal considered the arguments presented by both parties and the effect of the stay on the orders made in the substantive judgment. The Court of Appeal found that the stay should only apply to certain categories of documents and not to others, as the Supreme Court had only granted leave to appeal in respect of some categories of documents and not others.

The Court of Appeal decided that the stay granted on 3 December 2019 applied only in respect of documents in category (c) and the affidavit (d). The Court of Appeal ordered that all documents in the respondent's possession or power relating to the Lambie Trust in the categories of (a) financial statements and (b) minutes of meetings, required to be provided by this Court's substantive judgment of 4 October 2019, must now be provided within 10 working days. Any privilege issues may be dealt with by appropriate redactions. The appellant is entitled to costs. If costs cannot be agreed, memoranda are to be filed by the appellant within 10 working days from the date of this judgment and by the respondent within 10 working days after receipt of the appellant’s submissions.

Orders