Connections

Kia ora everyone and welcome to episode 16 of Rice Speir Radio, coming to you live from day 1 of Level 3 here in Tamaki Makaurau. For anyone new to the show, we are a Podcast that focuses on all things local government. I’m your host, Nathan Speir, and I am Managing Partner of Rice Speir, a…

The recent Covid outbreak is taking a toll on all of us – on top of the demands we’re already facing. For many of you, working in local government has never been tougher. Email has meant that everyone is accessible 24/7.  Social media allows ratepayers to send their criticism directly – and without filters. In…

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…

Some may consider starting a legal career in the maelstrom of a global pandemic a daunting task, but I for one am excited to face it as a part of the Regulatory team at Rice Speir. I have joined Rice Speir as a Law Clerk after finishing my LLB (Honours)/BA and with some previous legal…

We all thrive with certainty and clarity. However, we are unlikely to have, at any point soon, the certainty or clarity that we would like. The strength of certainty around our connections with our clients has always been a significant part of the firm’s ethos and has never been more important than during this pandemic.…

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…

Faced with a 10 week High Court trial beginning on 8 June 2020, our client had to make a difficult call. We were in level four Covid-19 lockdown. Our client wanted to mediate. However, lockdown restrictions meant that we could not mediate in person. To go ahead we would need to mediate by Zoom. More…

Representing councils in Resource Management and Building Act enforcement cases means that we often get approaches from defence lawyers, asking for certain charges to be dropped in exchange for guilty pleas to others. Some approaches are orthodox, some are very surprising (no, you can’t pay the council money to stop a prosecution). The Solicitor General’s…