Justice Venning - A Worthless Indemnity : Who has the final say? Watkins vs ANZ URL indexed

Dear Justice Geoffrey Venning, Britomart Chambers 

CIV-2011-404-006060

[2012] NZHC 992

Matrimonial Property Watkins v Watkins, Orix v Watkins

Ok Geoffrey, I am done being a smart arse.  I know I will be in a lot of trouble if I have got my ducks out of line won't I.  But please, before you go locking me up in the nut house or applying to the court under the harmful digital communications act to get my blog removed, can you look at this timeline and tell me who you think cheated? 

 I am still putting my money on ANZ, Tim and the Steel Merchants with Mike Sullivan D&H as an accomplice, and my sister in law and the lawyers, well that would be for an astute detective to decide wouldn't it.

Photo Credit:  Britomart Chambers Geoffrey Venning Mugshot gjvarb@outlook.com

The Don. Geoff Venning

The Hon. Geoff Venning – a former High Court Judge – has extensive experience in commercial cases having served over 30 years on the High Court, five of them as Chief High Court Judge and over 20 years on Court of Appeal panels.

You know I strongly disagree with you saying that my indemnity against the Debts of Auckland Steel was worthless in Orix vs Watkins and here is why:

The $4.3 Million Disappearing Act: My Intent vs. The Final Ruling

To understand why the High Court’s ruling in Watkins v Orix [2012] NZHC 992 is so forensically flawed, you have to look at what was happening behind the scenes at the Bank just weeks before I signed my matrimonial agreement.

In 2012, Justice Venning ruled that the legal protection (the indemnity) my ex-husband gave me was "worthless" because he eventually went bankrupt. 

But the evidence shows the money didn't just vanish—it was redirected by a wayward TJW and his mates to shaft me and his kids.  And in fact, it was ANZ who bankrupted him.  

So all the scheming by Steel and Tube to load the yard up with steel was planning with D&H and where did that all that material and the contracts to complete go?  

You do not have to be a QS (which I am unofficially) to figure out how this all went down.

The Timeline of the Squeeze (not my word it's Gemini's so annoying):

1. 4 April 2008: The Strategy. A draft letter from Kate Dekker at the National Bank (ANZ) holds the key to my intent. It confirms the factory at Vogler Drive was being sold for $8.6 million. After paying specific loans, there was $4.36 million left. My intent in agreeing to the sale was to achieve a clean break. However, the ANZ Bank decided to keep that $4.3 million to "assess" Tim’s failing company, Auckland Steel. This letter proves the money was there and identified before I signed the settlement. 

   I told Tim right at the start that the factory had to go into a trust for the kids.  He wouldn't do it and I knew what he was up to.  Nobody would listen to me.  There is only so much a human being can take when you know who and what you are up against.  You can see from Kate's letter the mortgage was a pittance $2.557 ANZ for Red Pine.  

   That is why I told Jonathan Wilgermein from BDO that his books given to me in 2007 were all shit and I wanted to know where all our bloody money went.  Do I really look like that much of an idiot?

2. Just as a disturbing side note, my linked in shows that Mark Sandelin and Kate Dekker go way back.  So I have now developed some serious trust issues with him today after I was racking my brain seeing if Lawrence from First Mortgage Trust's daughter who works for ANZ Bank could help me find her name. 

   I even mentioned it to Mark when I rang him a few weeks ago, always hopping on a plane and saying "I hope things go better for you but I am just a matrimonial lawyer so I can't help it isn't my expertise".  It was right there.  My dusty old computer found the letter she wrote us.  Pretty sure the other correspondence between ANZ and Minter Ellison will be in the file that they are hauling out for me without delay.  Luckily I found Joany on Linkedin so I can tell on them, I wonder if she knows about this?

3. 22 April 2008: The Agreement. I signed the Matrimonial Settlement believing I was protected by an indemnity. In reality, the $4.3 million that should have secured my children’s and my future was already being used as a safety net for corporate debt.

4. 7 August 2009: The Liquidation. The McDonald Vague First Liquidators Report for Auckland Steel shows the company was killed off just over a year later. The ANZ was claiming $3.9 million, and the "Stage 2" money from my factory sale was gone. My Family Trust Lawyer Rob Voulk always had meticulously prepared all docs, and BDO had invoiced hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years for the same level of detail.  

   So I am perplexed how Venning J said I was supposed to have picked up the blower and told Orix myself I no longer was guarantor.  I did in fact email everyone myself before I left Auckland back in the first week of July 2006 along with some other information I thought they all should know but I just got eye rolled at and ghosted, even by my staff.  

   Maria (the other woman) and Tim (my ex now deceased husband and father of my three children) did a really good job of telling everyone who would listen that I was the one who was going and not her.  Staff could not come forward because then they would be seen as a "traitor" wouldn't they.  

5. 7 February 2011: The Bankruptcy. The NZ Gazette confirms Tim’s bankruptcy. This happened shortly after the Rimu assets were moved, ensuring that when the bankruptcy hit, there was nothing left for me to claim against.

6. 11 May 2012: The Ruling. Justice Venning delivered his judgment. He looked at the 2011 bankruptcy and called my 2008 indemnity "worthless." He missed the forensic truth: the indemnity wasn't worthless when I signed it; it was made worthless because the $4.3 million identified by the Bank was diverted to entities that was to defraud me and my children in a planned manner, instead of fulfilling the true intent of my matrimonial settlement, something I only agreed to because I knew it would keep going on for years and my kids were suffering too much, even though I knew I was being lied to.

The Bottom Line: I didn't lose my indemnity and my family's life's work in a dud settlement because of a "bad deal." I lost it because the ANZ Bank and the professionals identified a multi-million dollar pot of matrimonial cash and thought I was thick and so did my lawyer.  ANZ and Steel and Tube tricked me.  And everyone just kept riding me to wear me out knowing I was coping with the loss of my soul mate and my business, and my small children and I were grieving.

And I lose in court because of you and your mates Judicial bullying and bias.  Because I have all the facts, copies of emails to prove who is lying and who isn't to support my case and you just ignore it.  For fun probably, just for your ego.  And because of your ties to the LAW SOCIETY AND VANESSA BRUTON

ANZ held onto my factory to prop up a failing business, and when that business failed, they took the money and left me with a "worthless" piece of paper and a High Court ruling that ignored me, the facts, the math then continued to treat me like crap and ignore me when I have been telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth for my whole life.  

Mike Sullivan and Pauline Hayman-Halton and Maria Money are all sitting pretty.  Now you know why I don't have any respect for any of you Judges when you spend all your energy slamming me in court just to make sure I know who is in charge.

It was you Geoff who said that what ANZ and my lawyers had set up for me and my children was worthless.  I am 100 percent sure that Ian Hutchison had the correct information in my affidavits and so did Tim when he realised what an idiot he had been but it was too late.  

But this is what you said:

CIV-2011-404-006060

[2012] NZHC 992

[3] The appeal turns on a short point. It is whether Orix was given sufficient notice that the appellant wished to be released from future obligations under the guarantee. The Judge found that such notice had not been given. The appellant challenges that finding.

[17] The Judge held:

The only effective way to determine the guarantee under the terms of cl 9, so far as future advances are concerned, is by the two-fold step of notice in writing and payment of any existing liability.

Then you go dive off on some tangent case law shit:

[18] The second authority is W H Jones & Co (London) Limited v J W Millar & Others.

[24] The guarantee is a formal document executed by deed. If the appellant was to be released from that guarantee for the future the obligation was on her to make her position clear to Orix. The conversation between Mr Watkins and Mr Griffin is just not sufficient to have made the position clear. Mr Watkins’ general statements are insufficient for the Court to be satisfied that Orix was given proper and formal notice that the appellant would not be liable under the guarantee.

Result:

[25] It follows that I agree with the analysis of the District Court Judge. The appeal is dismissed.

[26] There is no issue as to costs.

Good one Geoffrey.  Your case law is IRRELEVANT.  ANZ BANK WTF WERE YOU THINKING?  I hope you are going to review your decision's on me before you retire, it would only be fair wouldn't it.  You and your mate Chris Patterson.  What a bunch of dicks.

And while you are at it when you write your apology to me and my kids, you can fix that other thing as well, you know Samson Corporation Ltd and Highmark Homes Ltd.  Parties who lied in court that you supported to make my life shit.  

Yeah I'm not holding back telling you how I feel.  So don't even try to say you didn't know because I know you did.  

At least I am still breathing for my kids that's the main thing.

Nicola Watkins

Bankrupt Artist & Blogger, Auckland NZ

BTW here's the ANZ Letter if you do not trust my links:

Kate Dekker sent me her draft letter to check it before she put it on ANZ letterhead in word format and the final pdf will be with ANZ, Minter Ellison, Brookfields, Murdoch Price who used to be called Price Voulk McCarthy and in my archive which I am currently sifting through.

DRAFT LETTER – TO GO ON NBNZ LETTERHEAD

4 April 2008

Dear Nicola and Tim

First off thank you both for coming in and explaining your agreement to me.

Following from our meeting and as a summary of the outcome of that meeting I set out below the steps that we will have to take to complete the matrimonial settlement

between you. I understand that Rob Voulk will be handling the settlement. As we discussed it is important that you are all comfortable with his potential conflictposition before proceeding. Once this is clear I will be happy to work with Rob on the settlement of the matrimonial agreement as far as the Bank is involved.

Vogler Drive has to be sold and proceeds applied as set out below to provide Nicola with the freehold properties that form part of her settlement. In addition steps have to be taken to give Nicola sole access to the cash that also forms part of that settlement. I assume this means Nicola becoming the sole signatory on the Blackjack account and Tim transferring the money from the other accounts into the BlackJack account.

I assume Nicola will remain a director of Red Pine Investments Limited until settlement and therefore will sign the documents required for completion of the sale and purchase agreement.

The purpose of this letter is to:

1. confirm that I have approval to release the mortgages over the two Blackjack

properties subject to the proceeds being applied as set out in the table below.

2. clarify the process that we have to go through to reach the final position as agreed between Nicola and Tim.

On sale of Vogler Drive the proceeds of $8,600,000 will be applied as follows:

It is understood that Nicola Watkins resignation as director of Red Pine Investments Limited is conditional upon the following:

I hope this letter helps to clarify the steps need to achieve the agreed end result.

I look forward to hearing from you to first confirm that the necessary discussions concerning potential conflict have been had with Rob Voulk and secondly, to confirm that you both agree to what I have set out in this letter.

Kind regards

Kate Dekker

Senior Manager

The National Bank of New Zealand

You know one of the staff who was a long time family friend, Jake Shelford came and saw me with his now late wife Lillian after Tim died and told what he couldn't tell me before.  It was too late but I already knew.  

We were like one big family back in the day and now it was all broken.  It affected alot of people what happened to us, more lives impacted than you could imagine.  

The good thing is that so many of the staff went onto starting their own businesses, working in well paid roles and going overseas.  So some good came out of it as well.  Just not for me and my kids.

RIP Lillian Shelford, Much Loved friend and Wife of Jacob Shelford, Mum and Kōhanga Reo Manurewa Angel - Now a Shooting Star

Chris Patterson please can you answer your emails:

https://watkinsvshighmarkhomes-nzjustice.blogspot.com/2026/04/corporate-fraud-banking-and-nz.html

And for anyone who got confused about what this blog is actually about, here is a context edit so we can all cut to the chase:

https://watkinsvshighmarkhomes-nzjustice.blogspot.com/2026/04/a-kings-counsel-who-fights-by-your-side.html