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The saga of a couple trying to clear their name over a fatal bridge collapse on their property in 1994 continued yesterday in the High Court at Wellington.
Beekeeper Kenneth Richards died when the bridge built by the Army for Keith and Margaret Berryman on their King Country farm collapsed.
In 1997 the coroner found the Berrymans at fault. However, a report into the accident, produced by a civil engineer for the Army's 1994 court of inquiry, listed serious design and construction faults.
The Berrymans are making a claim of misfeasance against the Attorney-General on behalf of the Defence Force, which has applied to strike out the action.
Its lawyer, Hamish Hancock, told the court the claim would be an abuse of process because to prove misfeasance it had to prove someone in a public office acted maliciously in a manner likely to cause harm or injury to the person.
Rob Moodie, for the Berrymans, said the case was not about the Army withholding information, it was about the Army making false submissions and providing false evidence that the bridge was well built.
Associate Judge Tony Christiansen reserved his decision.
- NZPA
