Coroner's appeal against witness costs successful

The Court of Appeal has quashed a High Court order that Christchurch coroner Richard McElrea pay $9096 costs to a doctor who gave evidence at an inquest into the Air Adventures crash which killed eight people.

Anaesthetist Susie Newton sought costs after taking High Court action to keep details of her conversations with the coroner during the inquest suppressed. She spent $14,000 filing proceedings and obtaining an interim injunction. The suppression order was eventually continued.

In January Justice Heath in the High Court found Mr McElrea had made "a substantial error of judgment" in putting questions and suggestions to Dr Newton which were beyond his jurisdiction.

The coroner had also made "an elementary error" in failing to give Dr Newton the opportunity to be heard before he lifted the suppression order.

The Court of Appeal yesterday ruled the coroner's error over the suppression was "at worst a pure mistake ... and certainly not a flagrant instance justifying a costs award".

The coroner's questioning of Dr Newton occurred at an early stage in the inquest and it was inconceivable he would not have warned her of any distinct comment about her evidence in his final findings. "We do not think that the actions of the coroner met the 'exceptional' test for the imposition of costs," Justices Susan Glazebrook, Grant Hammond and Mark O'Regan said in their reserved decision released yesterday.

Mr McElrea is yet to release the findings of his inquest into the 2003 crash which killed pilot Michael Bannerman and seven Crop and Food Research staff.

- NZPA