Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark said in a statement today both parties had reached an agreement and he was pleased the issue had come to an end.
Sir Tim was seeking to recover his legal expenses related to a 2015 defamation claim brought by Councillor Karen Arnold.
In 2018, he asked the council and Riskpool (the Local Government Mutual Funds Trustee Ltd) to cover his costs in relation to the matter. Both parties declined.
Then, in 2020, he filed legal action against the Invercargill City Council (ICC) after the council turned down his request to cover his costs. This was subsequently amended to include Riskpool as well.
At the time, the council’s chief executive Clare Hadley said the amount he was seeking was $448,000.
Mr Clark today said he could not confirm the details of the settlement due to a privacy clause in the agreement.
However, he said to date the council had incurred costs of $285,000 in the proceedings.
“Throughout this process, Council has been measured in its consideration of options and Councillors have worked to balance lawful obligations and the interests of the community.
‘’It is likely Council would have faced further costs had this settlement not occurred. It was important for the Council to draw a line under these proceedings and move forward.’’
He said Sir Tim was satisfied with the resolution and had agreed to discontinue his proceedings.
Sir Tim was unable to be reached for comment.
