Driver praised for paying up

A Remuera businessman whose careless driving caused the death of a 20-year-old student was yesterday commended by a High Court judge for paying reparation before he was ordered to.

But the family of Melissa McCorquindale are unhappy that David McDougall Ferrier, 41, left it so late before agreeing to pay the full amount sought.

Miss McCorquindale died on her birthday in January when her Honda Civic was crushed after Ferrier's BMW X5 four-wheel-drive drifted across the centreline after he apparently fell asleep on State Highway 1 near Ruakaka, south of Whangarei.

District Court Judge Josephine Bouchier banned Ferrier from driving for six months, fined him $750 and ordered him to pay $5000 compensation to the McCorquindales.

The Crown, which had sought $18,487, appealed, saying that the $5000 reparation was manifestly inadequate and that the judge had erred in law.

The appeal was set down for yesterday, but last Friday Ferrier's lawyer, Stuart Grieve, QC, filed a memo saying that his client was conscious of the anxiety of Ms McCorquindale's family.

He had paid the balance of $13,487 into court by way of reparation, irrespective of the outcome of the hearing.

Justice Rhys Harrison said that Mr Grieve had emphasised that the payment was made effectively as an act of contrition and goodwill and not by way of concession on the appeal.

Mr Grieve took no further part in the appeal hearing.




Justice Harrison said the Sentencing Act was very much oriented in favour of reparation in appropriate circumstances and the Crown application for reparation clearly fell within the scope of the act.

The judge said that the Crown's reparation claim was legally sustainable and factually correct, as Judge Bouchier had limited the amount of reparation by wrongly applying the totality principle.

Justice Harrison allowed the appeal and awarded the full $18,487 reparation.



He said he found Judge Bouchier's comments relating to the public debate about money buying justice puzzling and misplaced.

"I emphasise that this application had nothing whatever to do with buying justice.

"It was a proper request, falling squarely within Parliament's clear prescription to compensate victims and their families in cases such as this," Justice Harrison said.

Outside the court Ms McCourquindale's parents, John and Shirley McCorquindale, criticised Ferrier for waiting till the last minute to agree to pay the full reparation sought.



"Surely the decision could have been made some time ago," they said.

The reparation was not an important issue for them. It represented expenses incurred as a direct result of their daughter's death.

They said that the six months' suspension of Ferrier's licence did not event start to recognise the loss of their daughter's life and the $750 fine did not represent justice.

The McCorquindales also criticised as being hurtful and unnecessary Mr Grieve's comments in the district court about Ferrier not being comfortable paying some expenses, such as the wake.