2012
Owner of MV Rena convicted and fined (published on 19 December 2012) Early on October 5 2011 the MV Rena – a Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned, 235-metre container vessel – struck the Astrolabe Reef off the cost of Tauranga, a port on the Nort...
Supreme Court examines interplay of contractual and tortious liability (published on 18 December 2012) The Supreme Court's recent decision in the long-running case of Marlborough District Council v Altimarloch Joint Venture Ltd ([2012] NZSC 11) addressed the interplay...
Offshore parent companies held accountable for competition law breaches (published on 29 August 2012) In recent years the New Zealand Commerce Commission (NZCC) has increasingly sought to bring court proceedings under the Commerce Act 1986 regarding cartel conduct by part...
Supreme Court rules post-sterilisation pregnancy is personal injury (published on 14 August 2012) The Supreme Court has held that a woman who became pregnant following a failed sterilisation had suffered a "personal injury" caused by medical misadventure, for which sh...
Charges Laid in Relation to MV Rena Grounding (published on 8 August 2012) Early on October 5 2011 the MV Rena - a Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned, 235-metre container vessel - struck the Astrolabe Reef off the coast of Tauranga, a port on the Nor...
High Court extends protection for lien holders (published on 17 July 2012) A recent judgment by the High Court in its admiralty jurisdiction extended the protection afforded to lien holders when the property subject to their lien is arrested. Th...
Court's interpretation of Carriage of Goods Act casts doubt on limits of liability (published on 21 March 2012) New Zealand has a statutory regime that imposes strict liability on contracting carriers for goods carried domestically, regardless of whether the damage was caused by th...
High Court finds Ministers applied wrong test for economic benefits of major farm acquisition by overseas purchaser (published on 6 March 2012) The much publicised sale of a group of New Zealand farms to an overseas company was stalled two weeks ago by a judicial review decision of the High Court. The farms, com...
Overhaul of High Court discovery rules (published on 31 January 2012) From February 1 2012 a new set of High Court discovery rules will apply in New Zealand. The rules have been designed to reduce the often disproportionate cost of discover...
2011
Assessing the impact of the Rena disaster (published on 19 October 2011) Early on October 5 2011 the MV Rena - a Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned, 235-metre container vessel - struck the Astrolabe Reef off the coast of Tauranga, a port on the Nor...
Maritime New Zealand denied appeal in safe ship management company case (published on 5 July 2011) The director of Maritime New Zealand - the crown entity with responsibility for maritime safety - has been declined leave to appeal to New Zealand's highest court in...
A sea change in civil procedure (published on 7 June 2011) The District Court Rules 2009 introduced a new regime for claims in the New Zealand district courts, which radically departed from traditional civil procedure (for furthe...
Law change to aid Australia-New Zealand proceedings (published on 22 March 2011) In February 2011 the prime minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, visited New Zealand in the interests of strengthening economic relations between the two countries. This...
Caveator beware: abuse of process in admiralty proceedings (published on 16 March 2011) In a judgment dated February 7 2011 the High Court found that a caveat against the release of a vessel was unfounded and an abuse of process.(1)
