The Legal 500 Rankings
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The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific Rankings 2019 were released recently and it was good news for Fee Langstone and a great start to the new year. Fee Langstone was ranked in Tier 1 for Insurance.
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Two big announcements
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We are pleased to announce the appointment of Russell Stewart and Virginia Wethey as partners, effective 1 February 2019.
Read MoreChambers Rankings 2018
/The Chambers rankings were recently released and we are pleased to announce Fee Langstone was ranked in Band 2 for Insurance. The feedback from those interviewed was that Fee Langstone staff were “adept in both contentious and non-contentious matters.” It was further noted that the firm’s “expertise extends to policy review and product liability disputes.” Philippa Fee was mentioned as a notable practitioner in the firm. She was also ranked individually in Band 1 for Insurance. Those interviewed said she “maintains a prominent position in the market” and clients “regularly engage her and have confidence in her.” Pauline Davies was also singled out, receiving a Band 2 ranking for Shipping, with interviewees praising her work in maritime insurance claims.
Corporate Challenge 2018
/On Wednesday, 21 November a large group of Fee Langstone staff and family members braved the rain to run in the 2018 Corporate Challenge. Fee Langstone placed 22 out of 94 in the teams division. Luke Humphries was the first in for FL with a time of 19:33mins with Andrew Durrant closely behind him at 20:07mins. Ali Cornwell was our first female across the line at 25 minutes. Luke also came in as runner 31 out of 1049! After the race the team took shelter at Flying Burrito Brothers in Newmarket to refuel with burritos and tacos. Good work Team FL!
Get to know Jonathan Lewis, Senior Solicitor
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Get to know Jonathan Lewis, Senior Solicitor
Read More2018 Client Function: Like a Rhinestone Cowboy
/A huge thank you to all the cowboys and cowgirls who came out for our annual client function this year. It was a great night filled with glitz, glamour, country music and a great big fibreglass horse!
Scope and limit of weathertightness exclusions
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Napier City Council v Local Government Mutual Funds Trustee Ltd [2018] NZHC 2269
A recent High Court decision by Justice Hinton has considered whether an insurer can rely on an exclusion clause to deny indemnity in respect of an entire claim, where only parts of the claim were likely caught by the exclusion.
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Fee Langstone's submissions on the draft Code of Conduct for Financial Advisers
/On 11 October 2018 the Financial Advice Code Working Group released the draft Code of Conduct for Financial Advisers which applies to insurance brokers (amongst others). Feedback was sought on the draft Code from interested parties by this Friday, 9 November. Fee Langstone has been following developments closely in this area because of the importance it has to all insurance brokers in New Zealand.
According to partner Craig Langstone, the draft Code raises a number of issues that need to be addressed before the Code is finalised. As a result Fee Langstone has made a formal submission on aspects of the draft Code. The Fee Langstone submission can be accessed here
Clyde & Co Sydney secondment
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Imogen Allan, one of our Senior Solicitors, recently hopped across the ditch for a two week secondment at the Sydney office of global law firm, Clyde & Co.
Read MoreDistrict Court – Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
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The new Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (the Act) came into force on 4 April 2016. One of the major objectives of the Act was to recognise and legislate for an increasing trend in employment relationships and in the workplace environment where multiple entities simultaneously have control of a workplace and those working in it. WorkSafe v Athenberry Holdings Limited [2018] NZDC 9987 is the first defended hearing to be brought under the Act.
Read MoreXu & Anor v IAG goes to the Supreme Court
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In an update to a case covered previously in In Brief, leave for appeal to the Supreme Court was granted for Xu & Anor v IAG on 2 August 2018. The approved question for appeal is: “Was the Court of Appeal correct to dismiss the applicants’ appeal against the judgment of Nation J?”
Read MoreSupreme Court Rules on Allegedly Misleading Feltex Prospectus
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In the latest entry in the long-running Feltex saga, the Supreme Court considered what amounts to an “untrue statement” in a combined investment statement and prospectus for an IPO.
Read MoreCourt confirms at-fault driver liable for cost of hiring replacement car
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Is an at-fault driver liable for the cost of hiring a replacement car for the period the not-at-fault driver’s car is being repaired? The High Court’s answer to this is ‘Yes’ – provided these costs are reasonably incurred.
New defence to defamation
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The Court of Appeal has recently recognised a new defence to defamation.
The defence of qualified privilege arises where a person has a legal, social or moral duty or interest to make a statement to someone with a corresponding duty or interest to receive it. Lange v Atkinson extended qualified privilege to publications concerning the conduct of publicly elected officeholders and those seeking such office (i.e. politicians). The court in Lange v Atkinson declined to extend the defence further to include matters of public interest. However, the Court of Appeal in Durie v Gardiner held that societal and legal developments justify such a defence now being recognised. In doing so, it set the boundaries of a new defence of public interest.
Read MoreIn Brief Special Report 10 August 2018: Health and Safety Update
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The Court of Appeal has upheld the decision of the High Court in Xu & Anor v IAG, in a decision that will provide further certainty to insurers in respect of the entitlements of an assignee under an assigned insurance claim. Following the Court’s decision, it remains the case in New Zealand that replacement benefits in an insurance policy are personal to the original insured, and are incapable of being assigned.
Read MoreIn Brief Special Report 1st August 2018: AML/CFT Litigation
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The Court of Appeal has upheld the decision of the High Court in Xu & Anor v IAG, in a decision that will provide further certainty to insurers in respect of the entitlements of an assignee under an assigned insurance claim. Following the Court’s decision, it remains the case in New Zealand that replacement benefits in an insurance policy are personal to the original insured, and are incapable of being assigned.
Read MoreCyber Insurance – Failure to patch software costs US company more than US$243 million
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Details are emerging of how a failure to patch software can result in significant costs to a company. US company Equifax Inc. is a consumer credit reporting agency that collects information on over 800 million individual consumers and more than 88 million businesses worldwide. It provides credit scores for consumers.
Read MoreHealth and Safety: An Update
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The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 came into force on 4 April 2016. A key feature of the Act is the significant increase in penalties for non-compliance. Effectively, the Act introduced a six-fold increase in the maximum penalties imposed under the previous Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992.
A closer look at insurance contract law review
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The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (‘MBIE’) has recently proposed a review of the law around insurance contracts. The law governing insurance is fragmented, spread across six different acts, some of which are over 100 years old.
MBIE sets two objectives for the issues paper regarding the whole lifecycle of an insurance policy. One, to ensure insurers and insureds can transact with confidence, and two, to make sure all interactions between insurers and insureds are fair, efficient and transparent.
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