Greendrake v McConnochie

The High Court of New Zealand, Invercargill Registry, dealt with an application for leave to appeal on questions of law in the case of Greendrake v McConnochie. Eugene Anthony Greendrake, the appellant, had previously been involved in a private prosecution against Wayne Alexander McConnochie for charges under the Dog Control Act 1996 and the Animal Welfare Act 1999. The charges were dismissed by Judge Walker in the District Court due to insufficient evidence. The District Court also ordered Greendrake to pay McConnochie costs of $10,000 related to the proceedings. Greendrake's application for leave to appeal the District Court's decision was dismissed by the High Court. Now, McConnochie applies for an award of costs relating to the leave application.

The court had to decide if the award of costs for the leave application was appropriate, given Greendrake's unsuccessful and meritless appeal. The application for costs was based on Greendrake's obduracy in pursuing the prosecution and the meritless appeal. Greendrake argued that the only ground for an award was the unsuccessful leave application, which is insufficient according to the legislation. The court considered the discretion to make an award of costs was not because of Greendrake's unsuccessful leave application, but because the leave application was meritless. The court concluded that the prosecution (and leave application) failed due to significant inadequacy of evidence.

The court ruled that the costs application was governed by the Costs In Criminal Cases Act 1967 and the Costs in Criminal Cases Regulations 1980, with the Court of Appeal's decision in R v Lyttle establishing relevant principles. This was not a case of bad faith but a case where Greendrake lacked sufficient evidence to support the conviction yet pursued the prosecution and leave to appeal. The court found that the case warranted a significant award of costs as compensation to McConnochie for the incurred costs. The court concluded that a just and reasonable award would be $4,500.00, considering the 2B calculation basis and the context of the criminal proceeding.

Order: The applicant, Wayne Alexander McConnochie, is ordered to pay to the respondent, Eugene Anthony Greendrake, costs in the sum of $4,500.00.