Simpson v Hubbard

In Simpson v Hubbard, the High Court of New Zealand was asked to decide whether Margaret Jane Hubbard, in her personal capacity and as the executrix of her late husband's estate, should be granted access to the proceeds of disputed assets held in escrow by the statutory managers to fund her legal costs in opposing their application. The statutory managers, who were managing the affairs of Aorangi Securities Limited, argued that Hubbard should fund her own litigation. The central legal issues were whether Hubbard had an arguable case to the assets, whether she was impecunious, and whether it was in the interests of justice to allow her to access the disputed assets to fund her litigation. The Court held that Hubbard had an arguable case, was impecunious, and that it was in the interests of justice to allow her to access the assets. The Court ordered that Hubbard's legal costs should be funded from the assets in dispute, subject to certain conditions and restraints on the level of costs. The Court also invited counsel to consider the form of any charge over the assets that might be recovered. The Court reserved costs on the application, as well as leave for any party to apply further on this issue.

The Court found that Hubbard had an arguable case to the assets, which was sufficient to satisfy the first requirement for a preservation order. The Court considered the impecuniosity requirement to be more complex, but ultimately found that Hubbard was unable to fund her litigation from other sources. The Court found that it was in the interests of justice to allow Hubbard to access the disputed assets to fund her litigation, given the importance of the litigation, the proximity of the substantive hearing, and the potential for injustice if Hubbard was not legally represented. The Court ordered that Hubbard's legal costs should be funded from the assets in dispute, with certain conditions and restraints on the level of costs. The Court also invited counsel to consider the form of any charge over the assets that might be recovered. The Court reserved costs on the application, as well as leave for any party to apply further on this issue.