Judge has warned man in costs battle

A Christchurch businessman vowing to cost the city council thousands of dollars in legal fees by seeking his court costs has been warned before by a High Court judge that he could be the one footing the bill.

John Kipping has described his campaign against speeding and parking tickets as an obsession.

He said he would seek costs in the High Court after successfully challenging a Christchurch City Council parking ticket last month. Even if he did not succeed in getting his modest costs, he said, the council would be thousands of dollars out of pocket.

However, city council solicitor David Rolls said Kipping had been warned before by the courts about taking meritless appeals.

In June last year, Kipping appealed against the Christchurch District Court's rejection of his challenge to a parking ticket. Justice Hansen dismissed Kipping's appeal and, according to the transcript provided by Rolls, did not make an order for costs.

However, the judge did include a warning. "If such matters persist in this court without merit, as this one clearly is on the law set out in the Transport Act and the evidence, this court will be forced to award costs to the (city council)," the judge said.