Supreme Court finds council owes duty of care in non-residential buildings
Originally, the owners brought the proceedings in the High Court. Their claims were struck out in the Court of Appeal, and summary judgment was...
Developers’ duty of care — the Australian approach
In contrast however, the New South Wales Courts take a different view. In the decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales (Equity...
Are you a “developer”?
The definition of a “developer” is a critical issue because if an individual is labelled “developer”, they are said to then owe a non-delegable...
Bankruptcy no protection against a claim accruing after the period of bankrutpcy
The decision in the case of Chapman v Weathertight Homes Tribunal & Another concerns a builder that was named as a respondent to Weathertight...
Defaulting on building supply contracts – the supplier gets the money and the joinery...
The case
MJN McNaughton Ltd (“MJN”) had manufactured and delivered timber joinery to a building site of a residential building that Nikau...
Can individual building inspectors be sued in their individual capacities for negligence?
This case — Body Corporate 318596 v Mathis NZHC 373 — involved an application by the employees of Bay Building Certifiers Ltd (BBC)...
Can council inspection delays result in successful negligence claims?
For various reasons, it is not uncommon for there to be long delays between construction of a building and final inspections and the issue...
Causation — the difference between an award of cost for full re-clad and targeted...
This case — Chee v Stareast Investment Ltd (2012) NZHC 133 — involved an interim determination concerning an appeal by the Chees against the...
Judicial review of determinations made under the Construction Contracts Act 2002
Overview In Rees v Firth & Anor NZCA 668, the Court of Appeal was called upon to consider what approach should...
The LBP scheme — what sort of liability exposure will accompany it?
The Licensed Building Practitioner scheme comes into force on March 1, 2012. In broad terms the scheme was set up with the aim...