Judge rules against letterbox dumper

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A wealthy Auckland man who left his wife a note in the letterbox saying the marriage was over, has been ordered to pay interim maintenance of $10,000 a month.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appealed against the award made by a Family Court judge, but his appeal was rejected by Justice Paul Heath in the High Court at Auckland.

Justice Heath said that the couple married early in 2006 and separated in May this year when the husband left to live in Europe, leaving his wife in their $7 million home.

The Family Court had said the husband's departure was "without warning".

He left a note in the letterbox stating that "the marriage was over".

The man also left a letter drawn up by a solicitor outlining an offer to settle matrimonial property issues.

The offer, which was open for 21 days, was rejected by his wife.

Not long after their separation, the wife applied for an interim maintenance order, lasting up to six months, pending final determination of the proceedings.

The Family Court judge had said that the wife had enjoyed a "luxurious lifestyle" from which she should not be deprived "overnight".

The interim award was to maintain the standard of living that existed before separation.

In her evidence the woman said she had "given up" her work to fit in with her husband's lifestyle.

That lifestyle, the Family Court said, involved much overseas travel and expenditure that ordinary New Zealanders would regard as large sums of money.

On their annual European holiday, the wife had a clothes allowance of 20,000 euro ($NZ42,200) and a generous credit card allowance.

In addition to the $7m home, the husband owned a yacht moored in the Mediterranean which he rented out for 35,000 to 50,000 euro per week.

Justice Heath said that in the context of the couple's previous expenditure, an interim award of $60,000 over a six-month period was "not disproportionate or unreasonable".

- NZPA