Sheppard faces trial by judge alone after Hotchin-Watson defamation deemed too complex

Fri, 03 May 2013

May 3 (BusinessDesk) – Former New Zealand Shareholders Association chairman Bruce Sheppard will face trial by judge alone after former Hanover Finance shareholders Mark Hotchin and Eric Watson succeeded in arguing their defamation case was too complex for a jury. Judge Mark Cooper ordered a trial by judge alone based on “the complexity of the issues that are likely to arise and the nature of the factual and legal inquiry that will be necessary.” He declined Hotchin and Watson’s request for a review of Associate Judge Jeremy Doogue’s decisio...

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