A Nelson couple are facing bankruptcy as well as losing their rural home this week after the High Court ruled they are liable for a 2009 fire that caused damage to forestry and another home.
Steve Garnett and Tracey Lynch say the past three years has been like hell and a decision in the High Court last month was the final nail in the coffin of their dream retirement. At 61, Steve has lost everything and says he’s unable to start again.
They say the system has let them down and they wanted to tell their story about how they lost it all.
On November 24, 2009 Steve threw some ashes that had been sitting in one of the bed and breakfast cabins on their property out onto a grassy bank. The ashes had been sitting in the cold fire for 36 hours. Two hours later two men working nearby smelt the smoke and came knocking. Steve and the two men attempted to briefly fight the fire before calling the emergency services. The fire spread to neighbouring properties, burning down the home belonging to Caroline Wade and trees belonging to Nelson Forests Ltd.
Steve still disputes that the ash was the cause of the fire because it was “like dust” when he threw it out. But it did start on their property and the insurers of Nelson Forests, along with the New Zealand Fire Service and the Waimea Rural Fire Committee went after Steve and Tracey for costs under Section 43 of the Forest and Rural Fires Act 1977.
The couple’s property was insured but they didn’t have liability insurance on their two cabins because they were deemed a business, something they thought meant if their cabins burnt down they wouldn’t be insured but everything else would be. But because Steve was honest and said the ash came from one of the cabins – which is their business – they weren’t covered. If the ash that started the fire was from their own home they would have been.
Last month they lost their case and were ordered to pay close to $1.5 million. The property is worth only $550,000 and $100,000 of that is mortgaged, plus they have to repay legal aid fees.
They had been given until yesterday to pay but they don’t have the money so are expecting to be kicked off their land this week. It will be the end of their rural dream and say it’s an incredibly harsh punishment for something that was – at absolute worst – an accident.
In another case, an 18 year old man was sentenced to 18 months in jail for arson and insurance fraud for burning down a Westport home on purpose. His associate, a 34 year old woman, received 250 hours of community work for conspiring to commit arson. Neither was fined.
Steve and Tracey argue their sentence is much worse, and described it as being “wiped off the face of the earth” and say around a million dollars they invested in their property on Dry Weather Rd is now lost. They also say they were steamrolled by the system.
On legal aid, they say their one lawyer didn’t stand a chance against the might of the two top law firms working to bring them down. “The legal fees of these firms will be more than what our property is worth to them. They will get next to nothing other than ruining us,” says Tracey.
Steve and Tracey’s lawyer, Rob Ord, said in a statement that the law needs a major overhaul.
In his judgement, Judge Miller wrote he believed Steve to be a “decent” man but didn’t believe his testimony that his ash was cold.
Steve says it’s too late for them now. They will attempt to appeal the case to the Court of Appeal, but he isn’t holding out much hope and believes that by the time you’re reading this the wheels will have started turning to have them wrenched from their land. But he wants to sound a warning to other land owners, especially those in rural areas.
“We thought we were covered by insurance. We felt we did everything right to protect ourselves and can’t believe that this has led to us losing everything.”
Tracey says she’s heartbroken. With tears in her eyes she asked: “When did humans became so mean, so greedy for money?
“We tried to be honest, we’ve never been in trouble before and never been in a court before. All of a sudden we were being treated like criminals, like we’ve killed someone. Being upfront, honest and thinking fairness will prevail, we’ve learnt is wrong. It doesn’t work, honesty doesn’t pay, in fact you feel stupid for being so honest.”
They are unsure what the future holds.
Tracey boards with a good friend in Richmond, so that she can work in the city through the week to help meet costs. But the mortgage will soon be gone, along with their dream. “I feel shattered, I don’t know what we will do. We’ve lost all motivation, all our goals and aspirations are gone. This will kill us, financially and more.”
They say their major gripe is with the New Zealand Fire Service Commission and its lawyers, who they feel have been particularly aggressive, almost to the point of vindictive. “The New Zealand Fire Service, are there to save lives, save houses and help people, not throw them out of their homes,” says Tracey. “I can’t understand why they’d spend three and a half years paying these high level law firms to ruin us and for what? Their share of $350,000 after lawyers’ fees? The whole system stinks, we had no chance and now we’re finished.”
There is one last ray of hope for the couple though. Over the weekend a friend told them he has set up a fundraiser on fundanything.com, called “Save Triple Tui”. The aim is to raise enough money to pay the full settlement so the couple can keep their property. Already there is several hundred dollars in the account. To contribute, visit www.savetripletui.com.
