Driving charge dropped against former BRW rich-lister and Soak House Adelaide owner Cathy Jayne Britten (nee Pearce), she seeks costs from SA Police

A former high-flyer wants police to pay her bills now they’ve dropped a driving charge, but a court says it’s her own fault she was in custody over the matter.

The driving charge that cost a former $19 million rich lister her chance to “save” her Japanese bathhouse business has been dropped – and she wants SA Police to pay her bills.

In the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Friday, police withdrew allegations Cathy Jayne Britten – formerly Hogben, Pearce and Staker – had driven while disqualified

Ms Britten asked the court to order police pay her $5462 in costs, saying she had endured “a lot of financial loss and emotional suffering” as a result of the now-abandoned prosecution.

“At first blush, this does appear to be just a driving disqualified charge, but it was part of a much broader campaign,” she said.

“Unfortunately, I was actually incarcerated for two weeks on this matter, including the day I had a Supreme Court hearing to save my business … I lost my business.”

Magistrate Natalie Browne said the court’s computer system provided further context to that submission.

“You were incarcerated because a warrant for your arrest had been issued,” she said.

“Costs cannot be awarded to you for failing to answer your bail … the incarceration was brought on by yourself, from your failure to attend court.”

Cathy Jayne Britten in her mansion at the height of her success …

… and atop the wheelie bin outside her shuttered business in September last year.

Ms Britten was a famous real estate developer in the late 1990s and early 2000s, prior to declaring bankruptcy.

She is currently engaged in a legal battle with the landlords over the shuttering of her former business, Soak House Adelaide.

Ms Britten missed a key hearing in that case when her bail was revoked over the driving matter and other charges, which have since been dropped with costs.

In court on Friday, Ms Britten claimed the dropped driving charge arose from another person fraudulently using her licence to off-set demerit points.

She said she had spent $4000 on two different sets of lawyers and $1462 on travel expenses attending hearings, and “had the receipts” to prove it.

A prosecutor said SA Police were willing to pay Ms Britten’s costs – but only to the amount of $390 that can be awarded, under law, to unrepresented defendants.

He said Ms Britten could not lawfully seek to claim expenses paid to her lawyers without those lawyers coming to court and making the application on her behalf.

Ms Britten replied: “May I suggest we could perhaps look at a halfway award of costs?”

Ms Browne said she was prepared to consider the matter further, so long as Ms Britten “provided evidence” of her expenditure, and adjourned the case to next month.