Disputes Tribunal of New Zealand

Contract / disagreement over invoice cost / Applicant hired Respondent to install hot water cylinder and change pipes to a high-pressure system / Respondent sent invoice for $1,298.20 / Applicant did not pay and seeks declaration that he is only liable to pay $700 / Held: law of contact provides for a party to pay for services performed under contract / Applicant liable to pay Respondent’s invoice in full / Respondent performed service Applicant contracted them to perform / Applicant did not provide sufficient evidence to prove invoice not justified / claim dismissed, Applicant to pay full invoice of $1,298.20 to Respondent

Contract / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant purchased truck cab and chassis from respondent / Purchase included mechanical breakdown insurance / Respondent not authorised by Second Respondent to issue mechanical breakdown insurance for vehicles over 6,000kg / Vehicle’s ABS control unit failed and replaced at cost of $3,474.60 / Applicant claims $1,479.60 against Respondent and Second Respondent for breach of the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Held: the Respondent through their agent the Second Respondent failed to take adequate care / No consequential loss / Claim dismissed

Contract / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (CGA) / guarantee of reasonable care and skill / Applicant brought velvet boots to Respondent for resoling / when returned, Applicant noticed each boot was damaged and notified Respondent / Respondent undertook repair but left boots in worse state / Applicant claims refund for re-soling, at $35, and cost of replacement boots, at $700, plus Tribunal filing fee / Held: Respondent breached CGA guarantee of providing service with reasonable care and skill as damage was caused during course of service provided / Applicant entitled to statutory remedies / s 32(b) and (c), CGA / Applicant entitled to reduction in value of service due to failure below price paid and any reasonably foreseeable consequential losses / reduction in value of service is its entire value of $35 due to serious nature of damage / given extent of damage, only remedy available is replacement of boots / Tribunal filing fee cannot be awarded / claim allowed, Respondent ordered to pay…

Bailment / Applicant left car in Respondent’s workshop overnight / the workshop burnt down and Applicant’s car was damaged / Applicant claimed Respondent was liable to repair the car / Held: Respondent not at fault and damage occurred despite taking all reasonable precautions / evidence shows the cause of the fire was through arson / Respondent’s non-replacement of the workshop security cameras after having been stolen a week earlier not sufficient for finding fault for the fire / Applicant could have arranged insurance cover on the car to guard against this type of risk / claim dismissed.

Negligence / car collision / Land Transport (Road User) Rule 2004, r 5.9 / Applicant and Respondent not insured / Applicant claimed costs for his car that was written off and transport costs / HELD: Respondent failed to stop his vehicle / therefore, Tribunal found Respondent was negligent having breached duty of care owed to Applicant / claim allowed, Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $2,350 being the pre-accident value of car fixed by Tribunal / no evidence produced as to transport costs

Negligence / Applicant involved in car crash / applicant claimed crash caused by fuel spill & respondents responsible for not blocking road & cleaning it up promptly / alleged further damage caused to car when unloading it from respondent’s tow truck / applicant claimed damages  for damage to car, consequential losses & costs / whether respondents negligent, & if so , what sum payable / Held: respondents had a duty of care to take adequate precautions to prevent damage to other vehicles & respond promptly / no evidence respondent did not respond promptly / response time reasonable in the circumstances / resondents not lible for applicant’s crash / insufficient evidence respondent negligent in handling vehicle causing further damage / claim dismissed

Contract / misrepresentation / Contractual Remedies Act 1979, section 6 / Applicant purchased horse for granddaughter after seeing advertisement on Trade Me / private sale / granddaughter inspected horse and rode on him on three occasions over a two-month period / Applicant claimed that Respondent did not inform her of horse’s complications, behavioural problems and that horse is unsafe / Held: onus on Applicant to establish horse was misrepresented, that Applicant induced to enter contract based on misrepresentation and that Applicant suffered damage as a result / no persuasive evidence that Respondent misrepresented horse / claim dismissed

Negligence / Breach of duty of care / Applicant and Respondent were drivers in a motor vehicle collision / Respondent’s vehicle crossed the centre line, crashing into Applicant’s oncoming vehicle / Serious Crash Unit report found the collision was caused by the separation of the left rear wheel from the Applicant’s vehicle, leading to loss of control of the vehicle / Applicant changed the wheel 7 days before the crash, report suggested wheel was over-torqued causing its sudden separation / Applicant claims $13,444.10 for the damage to their vehicle / Held: Respondent entitled to expect the professional who repaired the tyre to check replacement tyre on vehicle / Separation of the wheel was not caused by a lack of care, Respondent not responsible for the collision / claim dismissed.

Contract / independent contractor / Applicant engaged as contract builder by Respondent through written contract / Respondent allocated 96 hours for job, which extended to 116 following issues arising in work / Respondent has paid Applicant for 122 hours / Applicant claims $2,978.50 for additional 74 unpaid hours / Held: Applicant was working on estimate rather than fixed price basis under the contract / Applicant required to invoice time that reflected assigned hours / standard industry practice allows 15% margin on estimates above allocated hours towards actual time on job / Applicant entitled to charge and be paid for 110.4 hours for original scope of work / unpredictable issues arose during job that required more time / Respondent did not allocate additional hours for this increase by mutual agreement with Applicant, as was required under contract / claim allowed, Respondent ordered to pay Applicant additional hours for estimate and issues that arose, totalling $1,465.10

Contract / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (CGA) / Applicant purchased type A factory bike from original owner / Respondent was the licensed importer / dirt found in the motorcycle’s airbox caused serious damage to the engine / Applicant repaired the bike himself and claimed for his losses / Held: motorbike not of acceptable quality / inadequate airbox filter system compromised bike’s durability / Respondent considered manufacturer / Applicant able to claim against manufacturer for losses relating to engine failure / Applicant not required by CGA to send bike to Respondent for examination  / Applicant unable to profit from engine failure / amount of losses not changed for betterment or loss of value / claim allowed, Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $8,318.08 and to arrange for collection of damaged engine from Applicant at own cost.

Contract / misrepresentation / Contractual Remedies Act 1979 / Applicant purchased used car from Respondent after seeing advertisement / Applicant purchased car after completing a test drive / Applicant claimed for necessary repairs and filing fee / Held: no misrepresentation / statements in advertisement were general and either true as far as anyone knew or statements of opinion / Applicant not induced into contract by advertisement having inspected the car and test drove it / advertisement merely induced Applicant to investigate further and do own checks on the car / an example of a “buyer beware” situation / claim dismissed

Jurisdiction / parties were in a de facto relationship for six years during which Respondent established a family trust that purchased leasehold property / parties lived together in the property as co-tenants / trust did not renew lease when leasehold expired, relationship broke up and both parties left the property / Applicant claimed $4,868.07 for money spent on improvements and maintenance / Held: all transactions between parties governed by the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 / Tribunal does not have jurisdiction under Property (Relationships) Act / even if Applicant’s claim treated as against Respondent in her capacity as trustee, relationship between Applicant and trust is that of tenant and landlord and transactions between them may raise relationship property issues / claim struck out.

Jurisdiction / survey marks and boundary fence / Cadastral Survey Act 2002 (CSA) / Disputes Tribunal Act 1988 (DTA) / Fencing Act 1978 (FA) / parties are neighbours / Applicant removed part of boundary fence to safely remove tree stumps / Applicant noticed two boundary pegs missing while reinstating fence / Applicant claims $1,0355 from Respondent for cost to survey and reinstate boundary pegs on grounds that Respondent removed or tar sealed them during previous driveway maintenance / Respondent counterclaims $1,889.75 in legal costs, stating Applicant verbally agreed to resurvey fence when finished with trees / Held: no jurisdiction to hear Applicant’s claim of interference with survey marks as under s 55, CSA / no jurisdiction over survey cost matters under FA, ss 24(p) and 24A(1) / no jurisdiction over claims involving survey pegs as they cannot qualify as “property” under s 10(1)(c), DTA / Respondent not awarded legal costs as Applicant had arguable case for claim and did not know …