Fletcher Pilditch KC

Sealink Travel Group Limited v District Court at Auckland [2025] NZHC 3508

Successful judicial review the District Court amending a criminal health and safety charge to substitute the applicant for a different corporate defendant who had been wrongly charged.

R v Pikia [2024] NZCA 408

Acted for the defendant/appellant in challenging the unlawful excise of search powers by the Serious Fraud Office.  The Court of Appeal ruled that over 147 search warrants and notices used by the SFO were unlawful.  Following judgement the Serious Fraud Office abandoned the prosecution.  The judgment has led to challenges in other cases being upheld, and evidence excluded.

Maritime New Zealand v Goodhew [2024] NZDC 12301

Successfully defended both the skipper and his company against health and safety charges brought by MNZ following the capsize and destruction of the MV Enchanter on her transit from the Three Kings to the North Cape in 2022.  The incident resulted in the loss of five lives.  The trial occupied three weeks, involving complex and technical maritime and oceanographic evidence.  Following the acquittal, a successful costs application resulted in an order that the regulatory pay $150,000 in costs.

Horizons Regional Council v Turkington (various between 2021 and 2024)

Successful defence of company, director, employees and clients charged by the regional council for alleged breaches of the Resource Management Act 1991, and the Resource Management (National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry) Regulations 2017.  The regional council prosecuted the defendants in relation to three forestry harvest sites, resulting in two jury trials, and an appeal.  All charges were either dismissed before trial, dismissed at trial, or resulted in acquittals.  This including successfully defending a Crown appeal against a dismissal decision: R v Turkington [2025] NZCA 252.

WorkSafe v Volcanic Air Safaris & others [2024] NZDC 4119

Acted for defendant helicopter companies charged under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 following the eruption of Whakaari (White Island) on 9 December 2019.

Rayonier New Zealand Ltd v Canterbury Regional Council [2024] NZHC 1478

Successful appeal on a question of law relating to the regional council’s attempt to introduce forestry rules into its regional plan that were more stringent than Resource Management (National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry) Regulations 2017.  The High Court agreed that the regional council had failed to follow the Resource Management Act 1991 legal requirements for greater stringency and had failed to consider and address relevant matters.

Cayman Spectrum (NZ) Co v Spark New Zealand [2024] NZHC 107

Acted for plaintiff, and appellant, in a claim alleging equitable dishonest assistance and knowing receipt in relation to the disposition of radio frequency spectrum rights.

Appleton v Tasman Cargo Airlines Pty Limited [2023] NZEmpC 191

Acted for a commercial airline pilot in the Employment Court who successfully overturned the ERA’s rejection of his claim against his air operator employer. The Court concluded that the pilot was unjustifiably disadvantaged and unjustifiably dismissed.

Lindsay v Director of Civil Aviation 2018-085-000453, District Court, Wellington, 20 October 2021

Successful appeal for a commercial airline pilot, appealing the decision of the Director to impose conditions on the appellant’s medical certificate on the grounds the appellant’s personality traits posed a threat to aviation safety.

New Zealand First v Director of Serious Fraud Office [2020] NZHC 2502.

Acted for the applicant, a political party, seeking to injunct the Director of the Serious Fraud Office from making public statements about Director’s electoral fraud criminal investigation in weeks prior to the 2020 general election.