Ludlow v The Queen - [2013] NZCA 83

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF NEW ZEALAND

CA186/2012
[2013] NZCA 83

BETWEEN TREVOR ALLAN LUDLOW
Appellant

AND THE QUEEN
Respondent

Hearing: 12 February 2013

Court: White, Simon France and Asher JJ

Counsel: Appellant in Person
N R Williams and R See for Respondent

Judgment: 27 March 2013 at 11.30 am

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

A The appeal against conviction is dismissed.

BThe appeal against sentence is adjourned to be heard with the appeal in Ludlow v R CA727/2012.

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REASONS OF THE COURT

(Given by Asher J)

Introduction

Mr Ludlow was found guilty by Judge Bouchier after a trial before a Judge-alone at the District Court at Auckland on six counts of theft by a person in a special relationship, and one count of omitting a material particular from a document with intent to deceive.[1] On 20 October 2011, he was sentenced to five years and seven months’ imprisonment.[2]
[1] R v Ludlow DC Auckland CRI-2009-004-23758, 26 July 2011 [Conviction judgment].
[2] R v Ludlow DC Auckland CRI-2009-004-23758, 20 October 2011 [Sentencing notes].
Mr Ludlow appeals against both his conviction and sentence. He has appeared for himself on this appeal, as he did in the District Court. He has filed three volumes of material, including handwritten submissions.

Background

Mr Ludlow was the sole shareholder and director of National Finance 2000 Ltd (National Finance) at the date of its creation. National Finance went into receivership in May 2006.
His wife Carol Braithwaite and another became directors in April 2000, as did a barrister Anthony Banbrook in March 2002. One of the employees of the company was an accountant, John Gray. It was the Crown case that Mr Ludlow was in control of the company.
National Finance operated in the financial services market, offering motor vehicle finance. Members of the public were able to invest in the company through secured debenture stock and unsecured subordinated promissory notes. National Finance would offer finance to car buyers through licenced motor vehicle dealers. The loans were generally to purchasers who had poor credit or low income. The average loan size was $5,000.
Many of the loans were made to persons who purchased motor vehicles from the Payless Cars group of companies. Mr Ludlow was the sole director and shareholder of those companies. Those companies all went into receivership following the failure of National Finance.
Mr Ludlow had previously owned a different financial services company, National Finance Ltd, which had failed. In the 2005 prospectus for National Finance, there was reference to that earlier venture. It was stated that by 1997, National Finance Ltd had a shortfall in its accounts of $625,924. National Finance Ltd entered into a creditors’ compromise and as part of that compromise the creditors agreed to Mr Ludlow setting up a new finance company, National Finance 2000 Ltd.
Covenant Trustee Company (Covenant) was the trustee under the trust deeds. The trust deeds contained restrictions on related party lending. There were limits on the amounts National Finance could…

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.

Continue reading Ludlow v The Queen

Details

AGLC: Ludlow v The Queen [2013] NZCA 83
Case: [2013] NZCA 83
Decision Date: 27 March 2013

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Trevor Allan Ludlow appealed against his conviction and sentence. He had been found guilty by Judge Bouchier on six counts of theft by a person in a special relationship, and one count of omitting a material particular from a document with intent to deceive. He was sentenced to five years and seven months’ imprisonment. The central issue in this appeal was whether the Judge had provided sufficient reasons for her verdict and whether the evidence supported the convictions. The court examined each count and considered Mr Ludlow's claims of innocence and his reliance on s 138 of the Companies Act 1993. The court found that the Judge had accurately summarised the charges, examined the evidence, and correctly concluded that Mr Ludlow's guilt was established on each count. The appeal against conviction was dismissed. The sentence appeal was adjourned to be heard with the appeal in Ludlow v R CA727/2012.

The appeal against conviction is dismissed. The appeal against sentence is adjourned to be heard with the appeal in Ludlow v R CA727/2012.

Orders