Contested funds at the centre of a Givealittle page set up after the death of a young dad in a beach tragedy will remain frozen.
But both parties have been told it was in “everyone’s interest” that the matter is resolved promptly.
In a case that is a legal first in New Zealand, Justice Dani Gardiner rejected an application to discharge the freezing order at the Auckland High Court this morning.
The legal fight involves more than $30,000 in funds donated to a Givealittle set up after young dad Kane Watson died.
Watson died in hospital on August 25, two days after a sand dune collapsed on him while he was digging a hole during a family trip to Muriwai Beach.
Shortly before the funds were set to be released by Givealittle for distribution, Watson’s then-pregnant partner Jasmine Cooke successfully sought a freezing order from the High Court.
Her move came following a disagreement over the dispersal of donations from the public, that ultimately led to Cooke - who has two children to Watson - being cut-out of receiving any money.
In Monday’s hearing, Justice Gardiner said that it was in “everyone’s interest” that the case was resolved as quickly “as possible”.
But Justice Gardiner granted Cooke five working days to file a formal notice of opposition on why the order should not be discharged, including her reasons why.
On receipt of the notice, Givealittle page creator Kristalle Tayler and Watson’s sister, Shaquille Thoumine, will then be given a further five working days to respond.
Justice Gardiner said the next steps to try to resolve the legal fight would be a conference with a judge – set down for an hour – where it was hoped parties could “try and make some headway”.
Unless there was a settlement, a full hearing before a judge would then proceed.
Despite more than $300 million being donated to thousands of fundraisers in Givealittle’s history, never before have funds from one of its appeals been frozen on a court order.
Cooke – who told her partner she loved him shortly before the sand collapsed – was pregnant with her second child to Watson when he died; later giving birth to Zire-Kane on January 2, the day after what would have been Watson’s 29th birthday.
On the day Watson died, the Givealittle page was launched by Tayler – a friend of the Watson family – to help raise funds for funeral expenses and “related costs”.
The initial listing named Thoumine as a beneficiary, who would use the funds to cover funeral costs. The page had an initial goal of raising $10,000.
More than $30,000 was raised in a subsequent online appeal from 835 donors – with the funds due to be released by Givealittle in October.
But relations quickly soured between Cooke and Thoumine, Tayler and Watson’s mother.
Tayler previously told the Herald they had planned to give some of the surplus to the bereaved and pregnant Cooke, as well as to Watson’s mother.
And after Cooke failed to sign a proposed contract that would have seen her receive a portion of the funds – with conditions attached – Givealittle was set to release the full sum to Watson’s family on October 3.
But that was halted after Cooke managed to get an interim freezing order on the fund’s release.
Givealittle was launched in 2008 and, in the years since, has seen more than $331 million being raised for thousands of causes.
But never before the creation of the page titled “In an instant, a young father’s life was taken in front of his children” had one resulted in a court-ordered funds freeze.
After the Muriwai beach tragedy, a Givealittle page was launched by Tayler – a friend of the Watson family – to help raise funds for funeral expenses and “related costs”.
For the first two weeks – the majority of the time the page was live – it featured a picture of Watson with one of Cooke’s children, and revealed his partner was pregnant with their second child together.
It had a fundraising goal of $10,000 but donations from Kiwis topped the $20,000 mark within hours.
Tayler previously told the Herald they had planned to give some of the surplus to the bereaved and pregnant Cooke.
But relations soured between the two parties.
Over three weeks, two updates were made to the Givealittle description of how the donations would be used.
One was on September 8, and the latest change, on September 18, removed any mention of Cooke, and the fact she was pregnant.
That was a day after donations closed.
That latest change also added that after the cost of the funeral had been covered, $15,000 would be set aside for Watson’s children when they are adults, and the remainder would be given to his mum.
Givealittle rules state that when a fundraiser “far exceeded” its initial donation goal, like the one for Watson, those behind the page had to provide an update for donors on how the funds would be used.
Tayler and Watson’s family have vehemently defended their actions. Tayler previously told the Herald the conflict behind the scenes has been “foul and absolutely disgusting”.
On September 11, Tayler emailed Cooke a proposed contract that would see $10,000 set aside for Cooke and Watson’s two children, the payment of any outstanding funeral costs, with the remainder to be split evenly between Cooke and Watson’s mother.
Any withdrawals from the fund set up for Watson and Jasmine Cooke’s daughter and unborn child would require the joint signatories of Watson’s mother, Jasmine Cooke and Thoumine.
That was something Cooke opposed.
Cooke has argued that money should also be set aside for children she had from a previous relationship that Watson was helping to raise.
Cooke did not meet a deadline set for her to sign the agreement, later messaging Tayler to say she hadn’t received the earlier emailed contract.
Today’s hearing came after an initially scheduled one for November 5 was delayed.
Tayler had asked for the hearing to be delayed until mid-December as she awaited the imminent birth of a baby.
In a court minute from Justice Pheroze Jagose – obtained by the Herald – Cooke said mid-December would be “inconvenient” because of the pending birth of her and Watson’s second child.
In an earlier court minute, Justice James MacGillivray rejected an application from Tayler and Thoumine to issue a suppression order around the case.
The pair had claimed earlier Herald reporting on the first-ever Givealittle fund freezing order had been “hurtful to the family of the deceased”.
The Herald made a written submission to the High Court arguing the case was of strong public interest, given the amount of money raised, and the number of New Zealanders who use Givealittle generally, to raise or donate money.
“A party seeking a suppression order in civil proceeding must show specific adverse consequences which are sufficient to justify an exemption to the principle of open justice,” Justice MacGillivray wrote.
“The standard is a high one and it is not enough that information which is embarrassing or unwelcome or ordinarily private would be disclosed.
“In the present case, I am not persuaded that the desire for privacy in relation to this matter outweighs the legitimate public interest in the proceeding. I consider that the principle of open justice should prevail.”
Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 34 years of newsroom experience.
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