Individual charges against the brothers who own Whakaari / White Island have been dismissed in a shock development.
The charges were laid by WorkSafe in the wake of the deadly 2019 eruption, which killed 22 people and seriously injured 25 others.
The decision was announced in court today after a last-ditch appeal from the brothers last week.
Andrew, James and Peter Buttle are the directors of Whakaari Management Limited (WML). WML still faces two charges.
It comes over two months since the trial opened.
It comes after WorkSafe's case against the Buttle brothers collapsed in court. (Source: 1News)
The brothers were in court today to hear the decision.
"These applications are not about whether any of Andrew, James or Petter Buttle are guilty or not guilty," Judge Evangelos Thomas said. "It is about whether there is even enough evidence to continue with the charges at this stage."
"They admitted WML did not obtain a quantitative risk assessment from GNS or from anyone else," but they argued they sought advice in other forms, including through informal communications with GNS and through GNS' volcanic alert bulletins, Judge Thomas said.
"The Buttles were WML... nothing WML did or not do could occur without them," he said. "There is no evidence this was not joint power.
"There is no evidence that they were not acting together or in a unified way.
"Could I reasonably convict any of the Buttles on that evidence? No."
WorkSafe's allegation was that the Buttles failed to exercise due diligence as directors of WML, Judge Thomas noted.
"There is no evidence in this case of what happened behind the boardroom door at WML," he said.
"Without that evidence, I cannot assess what a reasonable director would have done had they been placed in that director's shoes."
It would be different if WML had only one director who the board's actions could be traced to, he said - but "the will of the board as a whole drives a company forward", and can be different to the will of individuals on the board, Judge Thomas said.
No party suggested amendments or substitutes for the charges, he said.
"The result then is that each of the charges against Andrew, James and Peter Buttle is dismissed."
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