Teacher fails in defamation bid

Kathy Webb
A Taradale High School teacher who was told by the school to stop inviting pupils to her home, has lost a $200,000 defamation bid against her former neighbours.
Robyn Elston sued Wayne and Nicola Turner after receiving a leaked copy of a confidential letter the couple wrote to her school's board of trustees.
It complained about years of harassment by Mrs Elston and her husband Graeme, and asked for a formal assurance that the Turners' four children would be able to attend Taradale High School and not be put in any of Mrs Elston's classes.
The Turners wrote to the school board in March 2001, saying they had discussed their ongoing problems with the Elstons with the then-principal of Taradale High, Mike Kilty, but felt he had not dealt with the matter properly or thoroughly.
They also told of their concerns about young people in school uniform visiting the Elstons' home outside school hours while Mr Elston, a convicted sex offender, was there.
Mr Elston was convicted of indecency in 1989, three years after he married Mrs Elston, and of indecently assaulting a 12-year-old girl in 1996.
Mr Kilty subsequently told the Turners he had investigated but found no evidence of pupils visiting the Elston home, although a later investigation found some pupils had been going to the house.
Taradale principal John Pitts yesterday said that when the school found out its pupils were going to the Elston home, "Mrs Elston was asked to comply with school policy that it is not best practice to have students in your own home".
Mrs Elston, who still teaches at the school, has reportedly faced criticism for allegedly asking the victim of the 2001 broomstick sexual assault by a group of Taradale High pupils "unnecessary, objectionable and intrusive questions" about the experience.
That boy gave the Turners' defence in the defamation action an affidavit saying that in 2001, Mrs Elston gave him photos showing Taradale High pupils sitting in what looked like a spa pool at the Elston house, drinking champagne.
She then whisked the photos away from him, saying words to the effect of "oops, those are photographs of a party at my house". In March 2001, two months after selling their home at 7 Alley Place in Taradale and moving out of the area, the Turners wrote to the high school's board of trustees and marked the letter "confidential".
However, Mr Kilty gave Mrs Elston a copy, and she used it to sue the Turners for $200,000 for defamation and emotional harm.
Mrs Elston's case against the Turners was heard in the Napier District court in April, and Judge Colin Doherty released his judgment this week.
He threw out Mrs Elston's claim and gave the Turners leave to apply for costs, which Mr Turner said yesterday had mounted to $67,000. Judge Doherty said he found Mr Turner to be "precise, accurate, fastidious, driven and obsessional".
"All these traits underpin my view of his determination and single-mindedness when it came to matters of his family and particularly the right for his children to attend the local high school".
He found Mrs Turner defensive and unhelpful, but did not doubt her honesty or sincerity.
Two other neighbours on the other side of the Elstons - Brent Gordon and Christine Mulholland, whom Mrs Elston had also sued and settled with out of court - were also honest witnesses, as were the former pupils of Taradale High who gave affidavits in the Turners' defence, Judge Doherty said. "Where their evidence differs from that of Mrs Elston, I accept them.
"For example, the actual attendance of students at the home, and likelihood of the presence of students in the home, was to a far greater extent than Mrs Elston would have had me believe".
Mrs Elston "did not impress me as a witness", Judge Doherty said. "I felt she was economical with the truth when she felt under attack."
Mrs Elston, who was also engaged in litigation over a failed business, had attempted to "deflect the contents of her witness statement in the business litigation where those contents did not reflect what she now said was the position".
"She seemed prepared to accept that, because evidence was given in a different context, somehow the evidence should be viewed differently.
"She accepted that in the witness statement she had been prepared to embellish and use language which, upon reflection, was not appropriate when describing the Turners.
"When pressed, she resorted to obfuscation and hiding behind an alleged lack of knowledge of her own business affairs."
Judge Doherty said there was a lack of independent evidence about the saga of dysfuntion among the three sets of neighbours in Alley Place, Taradale.
However, he was satisfied the Turners "honestly believed they had cause for concern at the conduct of Mrs Elston and in particular that her behaviour was inappropriate and would lead to potential difficulties for the schooling of their children at Taradale High School".
"Mr Turner, in particular, was obsessional about the principle and it could be said that he went to extremes in his pursuit of the welfare of his children.
"He struck me as a person for whom the principles of proper behaviour are paramount. His opinions about Mrs Elston's behaviour had foundation and were genuinely held."
Judge Doherty said he preferred the evidence of the Turners and Gordon/Mulholland where it differed from Mrs Elston's, particularly when it was corroborated by evidence from former pupils of Taradale High and the fact that, with the exception of the prosecutions of Mr Gordon and Mr Turner for assault, all matters involving the police were sheeted home to, or accepted by, the Elstons.
The judge said the Turners had been entitled to act as they did to express their genuinely-held concerns and attempt to have them dealt with, and it would be a misplaced suggestion that they should not be allowed to complain about such matters.
He was satisfied the intention of the Turners was to resolve those issues and not to cause Mrs Elston to lose her job, suffer distress or harm, or trigger any depressive illness.
Mr Turner said yesterday his family's stressful, seven-year experience with the Elstons had taken a huge toll and he had spent "many hundreds of hours" working through events as they unfolded.
He would be seeking $67,000 costs from Mrs Elston. He also wanted Taradale High to conduct a full and proper investigation into the way it had handled his complaints and Mrs Elston's breach of school policy by having pupils coming and going at her home.
A previous investigation by former police officer Mick Cull, at the behest of the school, had not included that, he said.
"I want the whole thing to be looked at together, not bits in isolation."
He was not sure whether his two younger children would attend Taradale High School.
He wanted them to have that option, but until the whole issue was brought out into the open, there was still a culture of bias and prejudice against the Turner family, he said.
Principal John Pitts said yesterday the school had acted correctly in releasing the Turners' letter to Mrs Elston. "It's natural justice that if a complaint is made about someone, they should be informed," he said.
The school had looked into everything within its realm of responsibility. At the time it investigated the issue of pupils visiting Mrs Elston's home, "she said the only ones who had been were helping her with the school magazine".
The school also assured Mr Turner his sons would be able to attend Taradale High and not be taught by Mrs Elston.
"All other issues were private ... and it was not appropriate for the school to be involved in them," he said.