Get to know Rachel
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Senior Associate Rachel Anderson joined Fee Langstone this month.
Read MoreHigh Court clarifies entitlement to reparations for loss of earnings involving deceased victims
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Oceana Gold (NZ) Ltd v WorkSafe NZ & Cropp Logging Ltd v WorkSafe NZ [2019] NZHC 365
On 7th March, the High Court of New Zealand released its decision regarding two appeals from sentences imposed pursuant to the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA).
Read MoreFirst Australian decision on liability for ACP Cladding – what does it mean for insurers?
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Owners Corporation No.1 PS613436T & Ors v LU Simon Builders Pty Ltd & Ors [2019] VCAT 286
Early morning on 25 November 2014, a resident of the Lacrosse Apartment building, in Melbourne, extinguished a cigarette in a makeshift ashtray sitting on a timber table on his balcony. A small fire started in the plastic ashtray, spreading to the table and then to the external cladding of the building. The cladding was made of Aluminium Composite Panels (ACP). These panels had a core containing highly flammable polyethylene, which was not compliant with the Building Code of Australia (BCA). The fire spread quickly up the side of the building, racing up thirteen floors in roughly fifteen minutes and causing extensive damage.
Read MoreRepairing property to a “when it was new” standard.
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Fitzgerald v IAG New Zealand (2018) NZHC 3447
Insurers will welcome further confirmation from the High Court as to what is required when a policy agrees to repair a building to a “when new” condition.
Read MoreMandatory reporting of privacy breaches incoming
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Andrew Little introduced a new Privacy Bill on 20 March 2018. There are a range of changes made to the old legislation. These proposed changes will impact on any organisation or business that holds personal information about clients or customers.
Read MoreInsurance industry under scrutiny by regulators
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On both sides of the Tasman, two reports have been released in quick succession. The reports will undoubtedly have important implications for general insurers.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreTwo 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.
