In a landmark decision, the Court of Appeal recently granted leave for a class action to be brought against government-owned settlement agency Southern Response on an opt-out basis.
Read MoreThe Construction Contracts Act 2002 (CCA) was meant to ensure money was paid, quickly and efficiently, to parties to a construction contract. But, because of recent amendment, it now represents a potential trap for design professionals to fall into.
Read MoreLast week, we at Fee Langstone took some time out of our busy days for mindfulness and self-care as part of Mental Health Awareness Week. Each day we enjoyed a different wellness activity.
FL Staff working hard at Eat My Lunch HQ
On Monday, we got a chance to showcase our culinary skills helping prepare and pack lunches with the amazing volunteers at Eat My Lunch. This business works to ensure that for every lunch purchased, one is provided to a school child. To check out their great work visit: https://www.eatmylunch.nz/
On Tuesday, a group of solicitors and support staff took some time to calm and centre ourselves with lunchtime yoga. This gave us the opportunity to slow down and relieve stress, while also reducing muscle tension.
Mindfulness Colouring (inside the lines of course!)
Wednesday was an inside kind of day, and we had fun with some mindful colouring-in. While being a pleasurable pastime in itself, mindful colouring has been shown to decrease anxiety and lessen symptoms of stress.
We braved stormy weather on Thursday lunchtime to walk the pink Lightpath. (Reports of thunder and lightning may have been greatly exaggerated.) Kit, our fantastic, fluffy Associate (pictured), led the way. If you are looking for walks around the Auckland region check out: https://at.govt.nz/cycling-walking/cycle-walking-maps/
Kit, Senior Fluff Associate
We wrapped up the week with a delicious morning tea. Taking note of what we had learned at yoga earlier in the week about balance, there were healthy treats, but balanced by not so healthy sausage rolls!
As a final update, the Supreme Court gave their decision in the Xu saga, with the majority of the Supreme Court dismissing Mr Xu’s appeal. This decision confirms that the entitlement under an insurance policy to replacement benefits, conditional upon reinstatement by the insured, are personal to the original insured and cannot be assigned.
Read MoreIn the first successful privacy case since 2012, the High Court has released its decision in the now long-standing battle between David Henderson, former director of Property Ventures Ltd (PVL), and PVL’s appointed liquidator, Robert Walker.
Read MoreA, B and C v D and E Limited [2019] NZHC 992
Could a lawyer be liable to disappointed children for a client’s decision to transfer assets to a trust?
One of the fundamental duties of a solicitor is to implement the instructions given to him or her by a client. But what if those instructions are morally dubious? Where a third party suffers a loss, can the lawyer say that he or she was only following instructions? The answer is a clear ‘no’ if the client’s instruction relates to a breach of the client’s fiduciary duties. A recent case suggests that such breaches might be more common than previously thought.
Read MoreJ & NA Shanks Ltd v Heli Support New Zealand Ltd [2019] NZHC 1615
Oscar Wilde once wrote, “life imitates art far more than art imitates life”.
It seems that this applies to litigation as well. Pauline Davies and Sam Learmonth recently acted for the plaintiff in a five-day High Court trial, seeking recovery of a payment made by insurers to a helicopter owner after the helicopter was damaged in a crash. The defendant was a maintenance engineer and it was alleged that the crash was caused by negligent workmanship. After the trial, Pauline and Sam were surprised to find that the issue in dispute had already been discussed in some detail in John Grisham’s novel, Gray Mountain.
Read MoreIn her last two years of school Hannah was set on studying chemical or civil engineering at university but instead she chose law and French and graduated from Auckland University with an LLB and BA.
She gained fluency in French not just through study here but in immersion in France. First came an exchange trip through school and then, in her final year of her degrees, an exchange semester at Université Jean Moulin in Lyon where she combined both disciplines by taking law papers taught in French. She studied translation at university and has carried out some translation of legal work.
Hannah started out her legal career at a litigation firm in Auckland, primarily acting for homeowners in disputes arising from the Canterbury earthquakes. She was admitted in March 2019 and started at Fee Langstone in August 2019.
"Insurance law attracts me because it is unique as while it is a specialised area of practice, it applies to a wide variety of disputes, with insureds ranging from individuals to multinational companies. The different areas of expertise in so many fields fascinate me."
"In my experience so far, like others, I think what really sets Fee Langstone apart is the people. I’m lucky to be joining a firm where everyone is highly skilled at what they do but equally very welcoming and down to earth."
When asked to list three things still left on her bucket list she replied: "Go skydiving, visit Antarctica, and learn more languages. I want to learn the language of every new place I visit as soon as I get there."
You never know. Perhaps Fee Langstone will get an instruction requiring someone to jump from a Hercules aircraft into the Argentinian base.
Hannah joined Fee Langstone around the same time as here. Read more about her here
Taylor v Asteron Life Ltd [2018] NZHC 2939
The decision of Taylor v Asteron Life Ltd is important because it upholds an insurer’s right to cancel and seek damages from an insured guilty of making a fraudulent claim. Rather than applying common law principles of the duty of good faith, the insurer’s remedies were dealt with under the Contracts and Commercial Law Act 2017 (CCL Act).
Read MoreEuro Pools Plc v Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Plc [2019] EWCA Civ 808
The Court of Appeal in England and Wales has recently considered the question of what (and how much) information must be provided to validly notify an insurer of a potential claim.
Read MoreThe brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) is a native of China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan and is a serious agricultural pest in all places where it has become established, including the USA and parts of Europe and Canada. The prospect of the stink bug becoming established in New Zealand is regarded by the local horticulture industry as a matter of serious concern, with an NZIER report published in February 2018 estimating that this could wipe up to $3.6bn from New Zealand’s GDP by 2038.
Read MoreMainzeal Property and Constructions Ltd (in Liq) v Yan and Others [2019] NZHC 255
In February of this year, the High Court upheld claims of reckless trading against the former directors of Mainzeal Property and Construction Limited (Mainzeal). The Court held the former directors had to pay $36 million, approximately one third of the $110 million owed to unsecured creditors. The decision is important for a number of reasons, including an adoption of a novel approach to assessing the quantum of the award against the directors.
Read MoreSenior Associate Rachel Anderson joined Fee Langstone this month.
Read MoreOceana 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 MoreOwners 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 MoreFitzgerald 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 MoreAndrew 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 MoreOn 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 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 MoreAt Fee Langstone we’re experts in the field of insurance law. We are a team of skilled litigation lawyers, able to work with you to provide strategies and robust solutions, fast.
Auckland
Level 18, 51 Shortland Street
Auckland 1010
Tel. +64 9 373 0050
reception@feelangstone.co.nz
Christchurch
Level 1, 83 Lichfield Street
Christchurch 8011
Tel: +64 3 371 4622
