SSTL maintained that after leaving the company payroll in 2021, Alexander Semenoff was free to pursue his own business interests and was no longer working under the control or direction of the transport company as an employee. Instead, he was involved in ventures including Kings Quarry and Pebblebrook Properties, where he was a shareholder and director.
Stan Semenoff also told the authority that the payments made to Lacomi Ltd were intended, at least in part, to support Alexander Semenoff and his children (Stan Semenoff’s grandchildren).
Alexander Semenoff maintained the change in payment arrangements was merely administrative and that the substance of his role did not change. He claimed he continued performing senior leadership and management functions across the Semenoff Group.
The authority found the “real nature” of the relationship was not one of employment. It said the payments made after 2021 were more likely intended to support Alexander Semenoff and his family and to compensate him for services he continued to provide as an independent contractor to businesses within the wider Semenoff Group.
The authority noted Alexander Semenoff was a shareholder and director of multiple entities, including Kings Quarry and Pebblebrook Properties, and found he enjoyed a high degree of economic independence rather than working under the control of SSTL as an employee.
The decision also sheds light on relationships between parties involved in separate ongoing litigation concerning Kings Quarry.
A separate High Court dispute centred on Kings Quarry is still working its way through the courts, with a substantive hearing on governance and control issues not expected until later this year or early 2027.
The business is jointly owned by interests associated with Stan Semenoff and quarry business partner Andrew Ritchie. The dispute concerns control of the company’s board and centres on a conflict involving Alexander Semenoff, the Lacomi Trust, Ritchie and other interests associated with the quarry.
The parties became deadlocked after Alexander Semenoff disputed the validity of accountant Clinton Rains’ appointment as a director. Under the shareholders’ agreement, the board must include representation from both ownership groups, creating concerns the company could become unable to function if the impasse continued.
Earlier this year, Justice Michele Wilkinson-Smith temporarily continued Rains’ appointment after finding there were serious issues to be tried on both sides. She said the arrangement should remain in place for a limited period while the parties attempted to resolve the dispute through mechanisms set out in the shareholders’ agreement.
Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism, most of which she spent court reporting in Gisborne and on the East Coast.