News & Insights

The High Court has allowed more time for parties involved with defective buildings to be joined into claims – even after the expiry of the 10 year limit. It is a helpful decision for councils, which often find themselves to be the “last party standing” in defective building claims. Background The BNZ building in Wellington…

In June 2021 the High Court released a significant judgement for councils and insurers in relation to an $18 million building defect claim. In Napier City Council v Local Government Mutual Funds Trustee Limited (RiskPool)* the court found that a weather tightness exclusion barred an entire building defect claim – even though many of the…

Charlotta Harpur is a civil litigation and insurance law specialist with 20 years’ experience. Originally from Sweden, and having qualified in the UK, she came to Aotearoa in 2009 with her husband and two sons. She quickly gained a passion for working with local authorities, who in turn work for their communities. Charlotta has a…

In July 2020 the High Court delivered a fresh perspective on an age old question in building defect cases: does an application to the WHRS ‘stop the clock’ for limitation purposes in relation to all building defects, even those unknown about at the time? The answer, at least for now, is no. The Court has…

We’ve made it!  In one piece.  Kind of.  After almost five weeks of COVID-19 Level 4, a never before seen pandemic inflicting untold harm and suffering on to our health, society and economy, New Zealand has just taken the significant step of moving back to COVID-19 Level 3. New Zealand, as a team, has been…

There’s a new mythical creature stirring debate and concern amongst our council clients, but it’s yet to be seen clearly in the wild. Before Covid-19 hit the headlines, we all heard about Kāinga Ora’s expansive powers, lofty goals and the worry that it’ll run roughshod over local councils.  But is there any truth to the…

As we move out of Level 4 lockdown this week, the nation’s focus will now turn to supporting the speedy recovery of our economy and industries.  Large-scale infrastructure projects will play a key role in this by creating jobs and stimulating local economies.  On 1 April, the Government announced it was looking for “shovel-ready” infrastructure…

Flooding is one of the most common natural hazards in New Zealand.  According to the Ministry for the Environment it is only likely to increase.  Property owners and occupiers will usually have the benefit of insurance cover for flood events but this will not provide cover for certain damage which is explained below.  Claims against…

In early 2019, Hastings District Council was granted resource consent to remediate the highly controversial track that was constructed without public notification on the eastern slope of Te Mata Peak in late 2017. Rice Speir represented the council (in its capacity as applicant) at the two day hearing before Independent Commissioners, Paul Cooney and Rauru…

A Waikato farmer, Mr Gurnam Singh, and his company B&B Singh Limited, have been convicted and fined a total of $63,000 for unlawfully discharging farm effluent into the environment at a farm in Morrinsville in August and September 2018.  The fine is the latest in a long history of environmental breaches for Mr Singh.  Judge…