Articles

What to watch out for when buying or selling a contract

If you’ve entered into a contract with someone, can you transfer that contract to someone else? The answer depends on what the contract says – but there are some things...

New Penalty Test Confirmed

The Supreme Court today issued a judgment upholding previous decisions of the High Court[1] and Court of Appeal[2] in the Honey Bees Preschool v 127 Hobson Street case.[3] This...

Law change for commercial landlords and tenants to address Covid-19 rent relief

On 4th June, the Government announced law changes to help certain businesses resolve commercial rent disputes arising from COVID-19. Where an eligible tenant has suffered a...

Covid Changes to Insolvency Rules

COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) has had a significant impact on the global economy, and the effects of this will be felt for weeks to come. New Zealand’s economy has not escaped...

Changes to the Takeovers Code in response to COVID-19

CHANGES TO THE TAKEOVERS CODE The Takeovers Panel has just issued a Media Release announcing some temporary changes to the Takeovers Code (Code) to help mitigate the effects of...

Changes Coming to Business to Business Payments

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has recently produced a discussion paper aimed at improving business-to-business payment practices in New Zealand. ...

Frustration of Contracts Resulting from Covid-19

Covid-19 has already presented many frustrations for New Zealanders as we head into lockdown this week. The nationwide Civil Emergency is going to impact a large variety of...

Vendor GST Warranty

Nine times out of ten the GST information in an agreement to buy and sell property will be completed with relative ease as both vendor and purchaser (and their accounting/tax...

Farm Debt Mediation Scheme more than meets the sty

A new mediation scheme will apply to farm debt from 1 July 2020.  The scheme will require lenders to offer mediation before they can enforce farm debt. Key Points The...

Contracts can sort out unmatched expectation issues

Contracts: the importance of hidden assumptions   I’d like you to think about the last contract you entered into. Was it a tenancy agreement? Employment...

Use of Company Name and Personal Liability

A company is a popular type of trading entity because – among other things – it helps protect directors, shareholders, employees and other representatives from business...

Voidable Transactions

The Companies Act 1993 (the Act) provides that in certain circumstances some transactions can be ‘voided’ (or sometimes referred to as ‘clawed back’ or...

Misleading Conduct in the sale of a commercial property and director personal liability

In the recent Court of Appeal case of Sullivan v Wellsford Properties Ltd [2019] NZCA 168, the Court decided that when a vendor withheld information from the purchaser of a...

Beware when commercial discussions lead to trouble

Businesses often work with other businesses – through distribution arrangements, joint ventures, or collaborations. However, sometimes these initially legitimate discussions...

Dealing with employment issues via redundancy can have expensive consequences

It can be tempting for employers to deal with difficult or poor performing employees via a restructuring / redundancy process instead of using the (sometimes) more challenging...

Farm Debt Mediation Bill (No 2)

In June 2019, the Government introduced its Farm Debt Mediation Bill (No 2) replacing an earlier private members’ bill which was withdrawn last year. Based on NSW...

Health & Safety Review Important

The Government wants your views on new health and safety regulations – for plant, structures and working at heights   Does your business have employees working on...

Relief for Owners of Earthquake-Prone Buildings

Much has been written lately about earthquake-prone buildings and the huge costs facing building owners. In July the Government announced changes that will assist owners of lower...

The Perils of Backdating Legal Documents

Don’t backdate documents. If you read nothing more than the first sentence of this article, that’s the lesson for today. You can sometimes agree how to treat or record...

Court of Appeal Releases Stinging Judgment

The High Court decision of Honey Bees Preschool Limited v 127 Hobson Street Limited[1] altered the New Zealand law on liquidated damages and penalty clauses.  That decision...

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