Westport accountant Frank Dooley has lost his defamation case against Buller Mayor Jamie Cleine. The case centred on Cleine's claim Dooley physically threatened the then deputy mayor, Sharon Roche, at a public Te Tai o Poutini Plan (TTPP) meeting in Westport in February, 2022. Dooley, who is now a West Coast regional councillor, admitted he "flipped" and swore at Roche, but denied raising his fist at her.
Dooley alleged Cleine defamed him in subsequent statements to the media and a letter to Coast council chief executives, which Dooley said gravely damaged his personal and professional reputation. The six-day trial concluded in the Westport District Court on 16 October. Judge Kevin Kelly released his reserved judgement on Wednesday.
Judge Kelly said he was not persuaded that Cleine had defamed Dooley. Nor was he persuaded Cleine's subsequent media comments and letter were motivated by malice. The judge said Dooley was agitated before the TTPP meeting started, due to his concerns about TTPP provisions, and was determined to ask his questions with little regard for others present.
In Dooley's own words there was "...
no friggin way [he was] going to sit back and let this plan be adopted in its current form...
" Judge Kelly said he was persuaded that Dooley had advanced angrily on Roche. "Viewed objectively, Mr Dooley acted in a way that can be described colloquially as self-entitled. He was rude and aggressive in his manner to the presenters.
" Dooley had accepted he verbally abus.