Disputes

Construction contracts often require parties to finally resolve disputes through arbitration rather than Court litigation.  One important difference between arbitration and the Courts is that arbitra...

Background BNZ made the decision to close the accounts of 16 entities associated with the Gloriavale Christian Community following a decision by senior management that this action was appropriate give...

In a 3-2 split decision, the Supreme Court in Beca Carter Hollings & Ferner Ltd v Wellington City Council [2024] NZSC 117 confirmed that contribution claims are not barred by the Building Act 2004...

The UK Supreme Court recently released Abbey Healthcare (Mill Hill) Ltd v Augusta 2008 LLP (formerly Simply Construct (UK) LLP) [2024] UKSC 23 determining that a collateral warranty used in the constr...

The England and Wales Court of Appeal (EWCA) has held that in certain circumstances, the courts can order parties to engage in alternative dispute resolution (ADR) or stay proceedings to allow the par...

Design errors in a construction project can result in millions of dollars in loss.  Standard form consultancy agreements typically limit the amount that can be recovered for such errors.  The cap on...

Following the departure from the fundamental principle of the Construction Contracts Act 2002 (CCA) “pay now argue later” in South Pacific Industrial Ltd v Demasol Ltd [2021] NZHC 3597, the Court ...

The High Court in Rau Paenga Ltd v CPB Contractors Pty Ltd [2023] NZHC 2947 granted an interim injunction preventing the Contractor from suspending and terminating its contract for the construction of...

Standing 40 storeys tall with 406 units, the Gore Street building in downtown Auckland (formerly known as “Harbour Oaks”) is presently the subject of New Zealand’s largest claim for residential ...

According to the UK’s Technology and Construction Court (TCC) (in Henry Construction Projects Ltd v Alu-Fix (UK) Ltd [2023] EWHC 2010) valid payment claims must be paid before the underlying merits ...

A party must meet a high bar before the High Court will modify or reverse a liquidator’s decision, or consent to a party commencing adjudication (or other legal proceedings) against a company in liq...

Building Information Modelling, or “BIM”, is potentially transformational for the New Zealand building and construction sector.  It has been credited with the potential to spark a “step-change�...

Litigation is expensive.  The high cost and inherent uncertainty associated with civil litigation creates a daunting financial barrier for those seeking justice for even meritorious claims. This has ...

The New Zealand construction industry is rapidly changing, projects are becoming more complex and risks are rising.  As a result, stakeholders need to react and adjust to those changes, this can be a...

Arbitration is increasingly viewed as a beneficial alternative to traditional court litigation, but how do you know if your dispute should go to arbitration or to the courts?  Several recent foreign ...

Our Construction Team has been pleased to assist with the preparation of a Retention Money Guidance (Guidance), which has just been published by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MB...

In the landmark decision of Mead v Paul ,[1] a question was posed to the Supreme Court regarding whether the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 (Act) applies to triangular polyamorous relationships.  ...

It is a common idiom that ‘mistakes have consequences’, and when it comes to the Fair Trading Act 1986 (“FTA”), it appears the idiom is ‘misrepresentations bring damages’. But how much is ...

The New Zealand Construction Industry Council has commissioned a review of NZS 3910:2013 Conditions of contract for building and civil engineering construction (NZS3910), which is being led by Standar...

The recent decision of the UK Supreme Court in BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana SAV & Ors [2022] UKSC 25 has considered the nature of the so-called “creditor duty” and whether directors are required to ...

It is common for force majeure clauses to define a “force majeure event” as being one that cannot reasonably be prevented by the parties. The wording may differ among clauses, but the requirement ...

The recent decision of the High Court in Fistonich & Anor v Gibson & Ors [2022] NZHC 1422 considered whether receivers have a right to retain surplus funds to meet the cost of defending actual...

The English Commercial Court in Galtrade Ltd v BP Oil International [2021] EWHC 1796 (Comm) has held that an oil trader who rejected off-specification cargo wrongfully repudiated the contract, as the specification requirement in the contract was an intermediate term and not a condition.

New Zealand boat builders beware.

Class actions and litigation funding continue to grow in prominence in New Zealand, despite the lack of a regulatory framework for the same.

The District Court recently dismissed the Commerce Commission’s case against Bunnings for alleged misleading and deceptive representations under the Fair Trading Act 1986 (FTA). In dismissing the Co...

The English High Court decision in Black Sea Commodities Ltd v Lermarc Agromond Pte Ltd [2021] EWHC 287 highlights the importance of parties to commodities contracts expressly including an arbitration clause in the contract. This is particularly when the contract is formed by email or instant messaging negotiations.

The United Kingdom Supreme Court in Triple Point Technology Inc v PTT Public Company Ltd [2021] UKSC 29 has clarified the operation of liquidated damages clauses in the event of termination.  The dec...

The High Court in Development Construction Company Ltd v Mackenzie [2021] NZHC 546 has confirmed  that retention of title (RoT) clauses do not provide contractors with a caveatable interest. This dec...

The revised International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Arbitration Rules for 2021 (2021 Rules) have now come into force and apply to all ICC arbitrations begun after 1 January 2021.  While the new Rules...

The High Court has clarified the elements of the offence of reckless conduct in the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.

The English Supreme Court has recently clarified how the governing law of an arbitration agreement should be determined, where the agreement lacks an express choice of law provision.  In an area of l...

Following the Supreme Court decision in Southern Response v Ross [2020] NZSC 126 the Law Commission is now set to release its Issues Paper on Class Actions and Litigation Funding on 4 December 2020. ...

The Court of Appeal in Commerce Commission v Steel & Tube Holdings Limited [2020] NZCA 549 has set aside last year’s High Court decision under the Fair Trading Act 1986 (FTA) where it imposed a ...

There are major changes to the Building Act on the horizon that will impact the entire construction sector including manufacturers, builders, building consent authorities, consultants and many others ...

The Singapore Mediation Convention has now entered into force, creating a comprehensive framework for the enforcement of international mediation settlement agreements.

Blackpool Borough Council v Volkerfitzpatrick [2020] EWHC 1523 (TCC) In 2009, Blackpool Borough Council (Principal), as principal, contracted with Volkerfitzpatrick Ltd (Contractor), as head contracto...

The last working day of 2019 saw another judicial review of an adjudication determination (Yousseff v Maiden [2019] NZHC 3471), this time focused on conflict of interest and apparent bias.  Despite j...

We are now on what may be called the “third wave leaky buildings”.

It is important to understand that if the Property (Relationships) Act applies

  Dispute resolution clauses are often relegated to the end of contractual negotiations or standard “boilerplates” are included with little or no thought as to their appropriateness.  Frequently...

The recent stream of alternate dispute resolution methods is part of the zeitgeist where disputants are shying away from Courts and attempting to settle their differences outside the Courtroom steps. ...

Admiralty proceedings against a vessel are necessarily territorial in nature. A debtor’s vessel may sail into a certain jurisdiction and be arrested and sold for the benefit of creditors who both ha...

Download full article Johnson v Auckland Council [2013] NZCA 662 Mr and Mrs Johnson purchased a leaky home in a mortgagee sale.  They were aware at the time of purchase that the house might leak.  T...

Alan Sherlock, Partner at Hesketh Henry, has been involved in a number of Admiralty cases, and has experienced the following recent success. In Babcock Fitzroy Limited v The Ship “The M/V Southern ...

In tough economic times when share prices fall, corporate profits drop and companies edge towards insolvency, investors can face the depressing reality of dwindling retirement portfolios. Whether they...