Lombard director Bill Jeffries is caught up in a court battle with the Privacy Commissioner over where he got confidential immigration information about American investors.Mr Jeffries is one of four Lombard Finance directors charged by the Securities Comm
Lombard director Bill Jeffries is caught up in a court battle with the Privacy Commissioner over where he got confidential immigration information about American investors.
Mr Jeffries is one of four Lombard Finance directors charged by the Securities Commission over an allegedly misleading prospectus.
As NBR Online reported on April 1, the former Labour justice and transport minister is fighting a bid to make him disclose the source of information about the movements of Marc and Ivy Powell, who were allowed to buy a farm on D’Urville Island.
The Supreme Court will decide if letters he wrote to former Labour attorney general Michael Cullen complaining about alleged inaction by the then Overseas Investment Commission are legally privileged.
Mr Jeffries, a barrister, failed twice in the Court of Appeal to protect his position.
A Court of Appeal decision said the information about the Powells, contained in letters written by Mr Jeffries and MP Nick Smith to the New Zealand Immigration Service (NZIS), could only have come from NZIS records, which are the subject of strict confidentiality.
The Supreme Court will decide if unsolicited communications received by Mr Jeffries while acting as a barrister were capable of attracting litigation privilege.
