A long-running squabble amid one of Auckland’s wealthiest families has ended with its octogenarian matriarch ordered to pay her sons and grandsons more than $650,000.
The patriarch of the family was the late Peter Huljich, who was a restaurateur and property owner. His three sons – Chris, Paul and Michael – made their fortune in property, startups and financial investments. The family also started Best Corporation, which sold Top Hat Bacon, before the business eventually sold to Danone in 1995.
The litigation between family members has been continuing in various shapes and forms since 2014.
Elizabeth Huljich, an 88-year-old widow, alleged two of her three sons Christopher and Michael, and her grandson Peter, abused her trust and took her money – claims they denied.
On one side were Elizabeth and her middle son Paul and their supporters, and on the other the defendants and their supporters, Justice Venning said in his decision.
"The rift in the family seems irreconcilable at present."
He said Christopher and Michael and Peter could apply for costs and ordered they were eligible for costs against Elizabeth in the sum of $605,820.61 and $43,535,97 worth of disbursements. He then dismissed the case.
The family has an almost 22% stake in NZX-listed mobile payments company Pushpay, which focuses on the US church sector, and Peter is its head of corporate development. The company has a market capitalisation of just over $1 billion and recently issued guidance that its annual earnings and processing volumes would be better than first expected in the year ending March 31st, 2020.
The Huljiches also recently took a 25.7% stake in Valocity, a leading cloud-based mortgage lending and valuation platform. Their other early investment in Auckland-founded startup AskNicely, seems to be coming to fruition as the top-rated customer experience platform, recently announced a USD$10 million injection as part of its first fundraising mission to continue expanding into the US.
In the 1990s, the family established the Huljich Foundation, which sends families of children suffering from life-threatening diseases on holidays, to provide memorable experiences.
2018: $400 million