Disputes Tribunal of New Zealand

Contract / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant purchased dog collar from Respondent for $72 / Dog collar broke shortly after purchase / Applicant requested a refund / Respondent blamed Applicant for break and begrudgingly offered a partial refund of $25 / Applicant claimed full refund plus cost of replacement collar / Held: evidence showed fraying around buckle, indicating leather was not strong enough / Respondent entitled to a full refund but not cost of replacement collar, as that was not supplied by Respondent / Respondent order to pay $72 / Claim granted in part.

Contract / Misrepresentation / Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 (CCLA) / Applicant purchased motorbike from Respondent, who was 16 years old / Bike suffered mechanical issues after being ridden by Applicant for 30 minutes / Applicant claimed Respondent misrepresented bike / Applicant claimed $4,000 towards mechanical repairs / Held: it was for the Applicant to ensure bike was of the quality he wanted to purchase, as it was not sold with a guarantee that it would be reasonably durable or of acceptable quality / Applicant therefore failed to show he was induced to enter into contract because the bike was misrepresented to him / CCLA provides that a contract cannot be enforced against a minor unless the court considers it fair to do so / Claim dismissed.

Contract / Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 / Applicant attempted to book accommodation over Christmas period on Respondent’s website / Applicant received pop-up which he understood to mean booking was unsuccessful, so booked elsewhere / Applicant’s credit card was later charged full booking price of $6390 / When contacted, Respondent refused to cancel booking or relist property / Applicant claimed contract never formed, sought $6873.04 refund, interest and filing fee / Held: not proven that booking resulted from system error as claimed by Applicant / Although Respondent not obligated to relist property, relying on this term was harsh in circumstances, contributed to Applicant’s loss / Respondent agreed to refund $299 booking fee and $206 cleaning fee / Further order of $500 justified to acknowledge that Respondent’s refusal to relist property led to unfair and unjust situation for Applicant / Respondent ordered to pay $1005.00 / Claim allowed in part.

Contract / Applicant employed by a university as a researcher / Respondent was Applicant’s manager / Respondent left university and Applicant began working for Respondent / Respondent promised but failed to pay all of Applicant’s work invoices / Applicant worked for Respondent for a year / Applicant only received $9,175.00, $41,450.33 of invoiced amount remained unpaid / Applicant claimed $30,000.00 in order to bring the claim within jurisdiction of Disputes Tribunal / Held: contract formed between parties / Evidence accepted that Applicant was engaged to work full-time and agreed she would be paid $33.33 per hour / Only reason given why Respondent had not paid Applicant was because she had not received money she had hoped for / Applicant’s payment was not conditional on Respondent being paid / Applicant proven owed more than the jurisdiction of the Disputes Tribunal permitted / Respondent ordered to pay $31,431.93, claim amount with interest / Claim allowed.

Contract / Parties were in an relationship / Applicant planned a trip / Respondent agreed to take Applicant to the airport and look after her pets / Respondent did not take Applicant to the airport and she missed her flight / Applicant claimed for travel costs and kennel costs / Held: social arrangements unlikely to be legally enforceable unless parties demonstrate an intention to be bound by their promises / Promise was made but it fell short of being a contract / Applicant not entitled to sought order / Claim dismissed.

Contract / Applicant signed contract with Respondent for work on development project / Applicant paid $5750.00 deposit / Work agreed to commence when Applicant's funding was approved / Applicant not able to obtain funding / Applicant claimed refund of deposit / Held: written contract did not refer to deposit being non-refundable / No disadvantage of cost to Respondent when project was cancelled / Respondent liable to refund $5750.00 deposit / Claim granted.

Negligence / Land Transport Act 1988 / Land Transport (Road User) Rule 2004 / Parties involved in road collision when Respondent tried to move into lane in which Applicant was travelling / Both vehicles were damaged / Applicant and his insurer claimed $2,858.19 from Respondent for cost of repairs to Applicant’s ute / Held: Respondent failed to give way and moved from his lane without due care / Respondent breached duty as driver to take care not to harm anyone else’s property, and was responsible for damage caused / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant’s insurer $2,858.19 / Claim allowed.

Contract / Respondent occupied room in Applicant’s house as a boarder / Agreed Respondent would clean his own bedroom and bathroom / Around time Respondent was moving out, Applicant entered room and found carpet substantially destroyed by carpet moths / Applicant said carpet and walls were covered in moths, cocoons and eggs / Applicant obtained quote for replacing carpet of $1,255.00, spent $67.96 on chemicals to treat room, and engaged cleaners for $230.00 to fumigate house / Applicant claimed Respondent responsible for damage as he had neither kept room clean nor taken action when infestation appeared / Held: damage caused by Respondent’s failure to clean carpet as he was obliged to do under parties’ agreement / Applicant had no choice but to replace carpet / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $1,552.96 / Claim allowed.

Consumer law / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant bought laptop from Respondent for $3,064.75 with a three-year extended warranty / Screen failed after warranty expired / Respondent declined to provide remedy because warranty had expired / Applicant considered laptop should have lasted seven years / Applicant claimed for compensation / Held: laptop cannot be regarded as reasonably durable / Laptop did not comply with consumer guarantee of acceptable quality / Respondent ordered to pay $1,751.28, calculated on estimated expected life of laptop / Claim allowed.

Damages / Contract / Applicant claimed Respondent damaged Applicant’s soundbar while at her home as a guest / Applicant claimed she had a contractual agreement with Respondent not to touch the soundbar, TV or remotes / Respondent denied liability / Applicant sought $629 for cost of a new soundbar and TV specialist service / Held: insufficient evidence to prove Respondent caused damage / No evidence of contractual agreement, which in any event would be an unenforceable promise / Claim dismissed.

Negligence / Contract / Duress / Respondent managed Applicant’s rental property / Applicant alleged Respondent acted negligently by giving her poor advice, resulting in loss of three weeks and one day’s rent / Applicant also alleged she agreed to an early exit for the tenants under duress / Applicant claimed $2495.36 / Held: after Applicant attended property without notice, tenant threatened to bring claim to Tenancy Tribunal / Respondent’s advice to endeavour to mitigate damages through early termination, rather than face potential consequences in the Tenancy Tribunal, was fair and reasonable, not poor advice / Applicant did not agree to early exit under duress / Claim dismissed.

Consumer law / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Respondent engaged Applicant to establish new mooring for his boat / Applicant noted challenges due to boat’s dimensions, but agreed / Applicant submitted application for new mooring, Council approved it / Applicant invoiced Respondent $6,704.63 / During cyclone, boat slipped mooring and went aground / Applicant claimed for unpaid invoice / Respondent counter-claimed for repair costs / Held: high risk of boat grounding at new mooring / Applicant met duty to exercise reasonable care and skill by informing Respondent about mooring options and depth issues / Applicant entitled to allow Council to exercise authority to determine whether site and mooring were suitable / Applicant entitled to payment of quoted price / Not proven that Applicant had any liability for damage to boat / Respondent ordered to pay $6,704.63 / Claim allowed and counter-claim dismissed.

Contract / Parties involved in family dispute / Applicant claimed $19,850 for vehicle purchase, turntable, course registration fee and flight fees for her Respondent son / Respondent counterclaimed $30,000 for rent / Held: Applicant gave money to her son / No binding agreement to repay money / Applicant gifted money as part of mother-son relationship and at the time Applicant was not expecting repayment / No evidence provided to support counterclaim / Claim and counterclaim dismissed.