12 Aug 2014
GREEN v GREEN & FISHER [2014] NZHC 1991
- Citation
- [2014] NZHC 1991
- Court
- High Court
The judge applied s24 and excluded broad, conclusory and argumentative lay opinions that were unnecessary to communicate witnesses' perceptions; admissible were limited descriptive opinions that were the only effective way to convey what witnesses personally perceived (with the court exercising discretion to admit close family evidence in context). Statements attempting to state legal conclusions (eg undue influence) or vague assessments of capacity without contextualised observations were excluded.