R v Love

In the case of R v Love, the defendant, Dr Ngatata Love, a prominent figure within Maoridom, faced two charges laid in the alternative. The first charge was obtaining property by deception, and the second was obtaining a secret commission. The proceedings involved Dr Love's involvement with the Tenths Trust, a trust established in 1985 by orders under the Maori Affairs Act 1953 and the Trustee Act 1956. The trust owned significant holdings of Maori freehold land in and about the Wellington region and managed and administered the land for the benefit of beneficiaries belonging to Wellington and Taranaki-based iwi.

The charges arose from Dr Love's involvement with the Tenths Trust during 2006 and 2007, specifically regarding the development of land situated in Pipitea Street, Thorndon. The Tenths Trust needed to develop the land to boost income, as it was producing very little at the time. To achieve this, the Tenths Trust needed to acquire ownership of 1 to 3 and 11 Pipitea Street from the Crown. Negotiations between the trustees and the Crown were in advanced stages, and the Tenths Trust was also involved in discussions with Auckland property developers, Redwood and Equinox, who were keen to build a large office complex on the Pipitea Street land.

The Crown alleged that Dr Love enabled a company, Pipitea Street Developments Ltd (PSDL), to obtain funds paid by the developers under a Services Agreement, by deception. Dr Love allegedly led the developers to believe that the Tenths Trust had approved the arrangement under which payments were to be made to PSDL when that was not the case. Additionally, he failed to inform the other trustees about the developers' offer to pay the Tenths $3 million to acquire the right to lease the Pipitea Street land and the arrangement between PSDL and the developers under the Services Agreement.

The court found that the Crown had proved the charge of obtaining property by deception beyond reasonable doubt. The court concluded that Dr Love created an environment in which the developers came to believe they were making the payments to PSDL for the benefit of the Tenths Trust, which was a material issue for the developers. Furthermore, the court found that Dr Love had omitted to disclose the information with the intention of deceiving the other trustees regarding the nature of the developers' offer. The court also concluded that Dr Love's actions were deceptive and dishonest, and that he obtained the property without claim of right.