Stephen Lawton’s company Stephen George Ltd was found guilty of five charges brought by the Dunedin City Council.
Because of this, the council issued an earthquake-prone building notice to the defendant on April 3, 2023.
It required Lawton to display an A4-sized earthquake-prone building notice in a prominent place on the property.
He did not comply.
In the months following, council staff twice visited Lawton’s building and stuck the sign up on display.
Both times it was taken down.
After a brief hearing, the three charges of failing to attach dangerous building notices, and two charges for failing to notify the council when the notices were not attached, were proved in Lawton’s absence.
Judge Dominic Flatley questioned if the landlord would pay any fine, given his stance on the law.
Ms Bunt said there had to be some "sting to the tail" of the charges so other business owners would continue to comply with the legislation.
The notices allowed people to make informed decisions about entering the building, she said.
There are about 250 of the signs displayed on buildings around Dunedin.
Judge Flatley fined Lawton $5000 for each offence.
Each charge carried a maximum penalty of a $150,000 fine.
In his written decision, released last week, the judge noted Lawton had appeared in court before but attempted to use the "sovereign citizen" argument.
"The defendant’s claims, which are untenable and entirely without legal foundation, do not exempt him from his obligations at law nor the jurisdiction of this court," Judge Flatley said.
Yesterday, Lawton told the Otago Daily Times he did not wish to comment on the decision as the case was "ongoing" and he was "dealing with the DCC over it".
In 2020, Lawton campaigned out of his George St building when he was the Dunedin candidate for NZ Loyal.
One of Lawton’s tenants said they understood how displaying the earthquake-prone building notice could deter people from coming into the building.
"[Lawton’s] very strong in his views, he’s very opinionated," the tenant said.
The court heard a landlord has 35 years to complete any necessary work to bring their earthquake-prone building up to standard.
felicity.dear@odt.co.nz , PIJF court reporter
