Stoush over Michael Erceg's $620m estate continues in court

Millie Erceg (left) and Lynette Erceg, at the 2005 funeral of Michael Erceg. File photo / Brett Phibbs

Another round in the stoush between the family of deceased liquor magnate Michael Erceg is being argued in the High Court today.

Erceg, who was 50 at the time of his death, was the founder of Independent Liquor and estimated to be worth $620 million when he died in a helicopter crash in 2005.

Strict confidentiality orders were put over the details of today's arguments in the High Court at Auckland, where Michael's brother Ivan is seeking summary judgment against Michael's widow Lynette Erceg and a fellow trustee.

The trustees, in turn, have filed a strike out application against Ivan Erceg.

Both sides oppose the others application and the details were kept under wraps by Justice Patricia Courtney following submissions from a lawyer acting for Lynette Erceg.

According to a High Court decision from earlier this year, Ivan is acting as a family adviser to his mother Millie Erceg, who in 2012 brought action against her daughter-in-law Lynette and Darryl Gregory as trustees of the Erceg Family Trust.

The proceeding related to the Erceg estate but the details remain secret and were subject to suppression orders during a hearing last year.

Millie Erceg, now in her 80s, also brought civil proceedings against Lynette Erceg and Gregory as trustees of the Acorn Foundation Trust.

This trust sold its shares in Independent Liquor for a "substantial sum", according to a ruling in February from Justice Geoffrey Venning.

In this litigation, Millie Erceg was seeking copies of financial documents for this trust, agreements for sale of the trust's shares in Independent Liquor, valuations and minutes of trustee meeting.

Michael Erceg was piloting his private helicopter to Queenstown with a friend when the craft disappeared off the radar near Raglan in November 2005.

The wreckage was found about two weeks later in dense bush, and both men are believed to have died on impact.

Independent Liquor, which makes Vodka Cruiser and other ready-to-drink beverages, was put up for sale after Erceg's death and bought by private equity interests, his widow Lynette Erceg, and others.

It was then sold in 2011 for $1.5 billion to Japan's Asahi Group Holdings, which now runs the business.