The Court of Appeal recently dismissed an attempt by the solicitors for an issuer of securities to strike out a claim against them for losses suffered by the investors in those securities on the basis that the law firm could not owe duties of care to the investors who were not its clients.
Doh! Read the contract before you sign it!
A recent decision in the High Court in Rotorua illustrates the importance of reading contractual documents prior to signing them. A drilling company was held bound by the terms of an exclusion clause in a contract with a supplier preventing it from recovering all of its losses alleged caused by the supplier negligently carrying out repair work to drilling equipment.
Beating the long-stop?
In a recent decision (Minister of Education & Ors v Carter Holt Harvey Limited [2014] NZHC 681 (4 April 2014) the High Court allowed leaky building claims against a manufacturer of a cladding system to continue to trial even though the claims related to buildings constructed ten years before the issue of proceedings. (PDF)
Government’s Financial Assistance Package falls well short
A recent report on National Radio confirmed that the government’s Financial Assistance Package (“FAP”) to leaky home owners has failed to make even a small dent in the number of leaky homes.
The FAP was established in 2011 as a repair scheme enabling leaky home owners to access funds from the government and participating territorial authorities to fix their homes.
Sole Practice In The Big Smoke
When one thinks of lawyers working from the imposing ridge of The Terrace in Wellington, or the teeming metropolis of Auckland’s Queen Street, sole practitioners are possibly not the type that immediately spring to mind. (PDF)
Firm acts in two recent Fair Trading Act decisions
Supreme Court confirms local authorities’ duty of care
More details about government assistance package announced
The Department of Building and Housing recently provided additional information about the proposed government assistance package for leaky home owners (see attached). While the scheme will not be finalised until 2011, the announcement does clarify certain aspects of the scheme which impacts upon eligibility for it.
Hamlin survives round one
More on directors and leaky buildings
In the leaky building context, the personal liability of directors of development companies, continues to generate much jurisprudence. A recent decision of Heath J held that where a director is found to have assumed responsibly for the way in which work is carried out on a building project and defects result, personal liability will likely follow.