The first Level 4 lockdown of 25 March 2020, implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, exposed various flaws in the risk allocation regime under standard construction contract NZS3910.   

A recent High Court case examined the all too common situation where a contractor goes into liquidation, but there are unresolved matters on a construction project affecting both the principal and sub...

Construction contracts and contracts for professional services typically include a range of provisions which seek to allocate risk between the parties, and limit potential liability to be attributed to one party.

The retentions regime in the Construction Contracts Act 2002 is on the road to repair with the introduction of the Construction Contracts (Retention Money) Amendment Bill (Bill) on 1 June 2021.  The ...

Cubo Projects Ltd v S&S Import Solutions Ltd

In Jade Residential Ltd v Paul, the Court of Appeal reviewed two issues which may arise in contractual disputes: The right to cancel a contract for “partial” repudiation; and Whether an aggrieved...

Climate change and its effect on contract risk in the construction industry

Payment schedule in Commercial Bay project fails to comply

The “pay now argue later” principle underpins the Construction Contracts Act 2002 (CCA).  The recent decision of C&R Property Development Ltd v MR Civil Ltd confirms the importance of this pr...

12 June 2020 New Zealand has moved into Alert Level 1 from 8 June 2020. While this means that life has largely returned to normal, as physical distancing and other restrictions have been removed, upd...

On 27 May 2020 the Government announced several in-principle changes to strengthen the retentions regime (Regime) in the Construction Contracts Act 2002 (the CCA). Despite the Regime’s introduction ...

The High Court[1] has ordered The Fletcher Construction Company Ltd (Fletcher) to pay one of its subcontractors Electrix Ltd (Electrix) $7.5m for electrical work carried out on the recently completed ...

In 2018 the decision of Bennet & Ors v Ebert Construction Limited (in rec and liq) [2018] NZHC 2934 (Ebert) established an important precedent for the administration of retentions under constructi...

New Zealand entered Covid-19 Alert Level 4 at 11.59pm on Wednesday 25 March.  Anyone not working in essential services is required to stay at home.  This restriction does not apply to building or co...

The Government has announced contract guidelines to help support the construction industry during the Covid-19 restrictions.  These apply to contracts based on NZS3910:2013 (un-amended), being the mo...

Media reports indicate that class action litigation in relation to ACP cladding is very likely.  A litigation funder has announced it will be funding a class action lawsuit for owners of buildings cl...

Between 2016 and 2022, demand for construction-related occupations is projected to increase by approximately 56,000 employees. Temporary workers provided by third party labour hire agencies have long ...

Hesketh Henry Construction Partners pen the 2020 Chapter of "Getting the Deal Through Construction".

Recent updates to the Building Code Framework

“We need to lead by example and if there are things that we can do to take a leadership position with that industry then we should be.” Prime Minister Ardern[1] As 2018 draws to a close a...

Construction partner, Nick Gillies, has been published in the latest Building and Construction Law Journal ((2018) 34 BCL 179).

Partners Nick Gillies, Helen Macfarlane and Christina Bryant are the contributing authors of the New Zealand Chapter of the 2019 edition of “Getting the Deal Through Construction”. Getting...

What is currently known? On 31 July 2018 Ebert Construction Ltd (Ebert) was placed into receivership.  John Fisk, Lara Bennett, and Richard Longman from PwC have been appointed receivers.  The recei...

Recent Construction Law Decisions and Developments in New Zealand

Two of the most commonly used standard agreements to engage consultants are the ACENZ / Engineering New Zealand (formerly IPENZ) Short Form Agreement (“SFA”) and the Conditions of Contract for Consultancy Services (“CCCS”).

The best way to manage a dispute is not to have one.

Firm receives recommendations and commentary in 2018 Legal Directories

Recent Construction Law Decisions and Developments in New Zealand

Recognised in Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2017 Legal Directory

Does a significant factual dispute preclude summary judgement?

It is now widely accepted that New Zealand is in the midst of the largest construction boom in 40 years.  For anyone working in or providing professional services to the construction sector, it is im...

Our construction team has been featured in the August 2015 edition of Business North, commenting on New Zealand’s current building boom.  The article outlines reasons for the increase in demand, up...

Introduction Since its introduction twelve years ago, the Construction Contracts Act 2002 (CCA) has become a cornerstone of New Zealand’s construction sector.  The CCA followed similar statutory in...

The Building (Residential Consumer Rights and Remedies) Regulations 2014 (the Regulations) are coming into force on 1 January 2015.  These implement a number of new consumer protection measures for r...

What is Driving the boom?

Download pdf paper Download Powerpoint slides New Zealand sits on the cusp of the largest construction boom in a generation.  One of the challenges (and opportunities) that this presents is how best ...

John Anthony Osborne and Helen Osborne v Auckland Council On 10 June 2014, the Supreme Court delivered a decision on the eligibility criteria under s 14(a) of the Weathertight Homes Resolution Servi...

Download full article For ten years NZS 3910:2003 was the form of construction contract most commonly used in New Zealand.  However, following industry feedback, NZS 3910:2003 has now been superseded...

The Government has released its Construction Report, which takes an in-depth look at the state and direction of NZ’s construction industry.  Construction is one of the largest sectors in NZ’s eco...