Dead man a defendant

Press, 28 May 1982, Page 4

Dead man a defendant

PA Auckland A case has been brought in the High Court at Auckland against a dead man. It is an appeal by the Trade and Industry Department against the dismissal of informations it laid in 1980 against an Auckland carpark proprietor. James Sarten. Crown counsel, Mr Michael Ruffin, told the court that he had learned that Mr Sarten was now dead, but the department wished to continue with the case to clarify a point of law.

He quoted authorities for the proposition that appeals on cases begun by an information or a complaint need not lapse on the death of the respondent. Mr Justice Thorp reserved decision on whether the court could deal with the case now that Mr Sarten was dead. Mr Sarten was prosecuted in 1980 for an alleged offence under the Price Surveillance Regulations. It was alleged that, as a trader running a car-parking business, he increased his

charges for parking services without retaining a' record of his calculations for the price increase.

The charges were dismissed in the District Court at Auckland on the ground that Mr Sarten, who rented spaces in his city car-parking building, was not a trader as defined by the Price Surveillance Regulations, 1979.

Mr Ruffin said that the department wanted the point clarified, because the ruling as it stood limited the application of the law.