Fishing firm files $8m lawsuit over scampi claims

Auckland company Simunovich Fisheries is suing Television New Zealand and others for more than $8 million over allegations about the scampi fishery, including a claim that the company's directors bribed NZ First leader Winston Peters.

The three plaintiffs, Simunovich and its company directors Peter Simunovich and Vaughan Wilkinson, say the loss to the company due to the allegations is $8 million plus an unspecified figure for loss of reputation.

The fishing company filed a statement of claim in the High Court at Auckland on Friday against TVNZ, Wilson and Horton (the then publisher of the Herald), Barine Developments (a rival fishing company), Neil Penwarden (a Barine company director) and Thomas (Barry) Nalder (a former Fisheries Ministry official and private investigator).

In the papers, Simunovich says TVNZ first defamed the plaintiffs in an Assignment programme in October 2002 by airing claims by Mr Penwarden and Mr Nalder.


Simunovich complains also that this year, TVNZ wrongly claimed that the company "agreed to pay Mr Ross Meurant (then a NZ First adviser) and the Rt Hon Winston Peters a bribe of $300,000 so that the three plaintiffs' interests would be looked after during the inquiry by the primary production committee of the House of Representative" into the scampi fishery.

Yvonne Dossetter, who made the bribery allegations to TVNZ, was a former partner of Mr Meurant, whose relationship had "soured" by the time the allegations were made.

Ms Dossetter had not been at the meeting "nor saw the brown paper bag or the cash change hands", the papers filed by Simunovich say.

"The serious allegations ... were inherently unlikely and based solely on hearsay and gossip."

Simunovich says the media attacks on the company and its directors began in early 2002 when Mr Penwarden gathered a series of affidavits that were given to TVNZ, the Herald, Mr Peters and others.

The allegations of corruption were made without any credible evidence, orchestrated by a business rival - Mr Penwarden - and without proper attempts to check the facts or balance the articles or programmes, Simunovich alleged in the papers.

As a result of the publicity, two public inquiries were held, the first in Parliament and the second by the State Services Commission.

The hearings imposed "very substantial" costs on the company and meant the Government delayed Simunovich receiving its scampi allocation, the papers said.

Mr Peters was not available for comment.

- NZPA