Disputes Tribunal of New Zealand

Contract / Limitation / Building Act 2004 / Limitation Act 1950 / Limitation Act 2010 / Applicants entered into a building contract with a previous iteration of the Respondent / Dispute over work done / Applicants ordered to pay $15,723.99 in a previous decision / Applicants claimed they should not have had to pay / Applicants claimed for money paid as well as interest, $30,000.00) / Held: Respondent did not assume any of the liabilities of previous company / Previous company had been removed from the Companies Register / Respondent not a party to the original contract / Claim was out of time under relevant legislation / Claim dismissed.

Contract / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant engaged Respondent to auction her painting / Applicant believed painting was an original / Respondent believed it was a copy / Reserve price of $100.00 was set / Applicant observed the auction online / Respondent appeared to be shaking his head at one of the bidders / Painting sold for $250.00 / Applicant believed Respondent told the buyer not to bid as it was not an original / Applicant believed the painting should have fetched $2000.00 / Applicant claimed $1750.00 from Respondent / Whether Respondent failed to provide service with reasonable skill and care / Whether Respondent engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct / Held: Applicant agreed to the reserve price / Respondent confirmed with the bidder that the painting had not been authenticated / Respondent acted with reasonable skill and care / No evidence of misleading or deceptive conduct by the Respondent / Applicant not proved any wrongdoing by the Respondent / Claim dismisse…

Contract / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant booked international travel with the Respondent / First flight into their transition city arrived late / Outbound flight was overbooked and the Applicant's family were unable to board / No further flights for a few days so the Applicant's family opted to return home / Applicant claimed Respondent failed to carry out their job with reasonable care and skill / Applicant claimed communication was poor with the Respondent / Applicant claimed $18,000.00 in compensation / Held: Respondent was not responsible for the loss the Applicant suffered / Loss was caused by the airlines / Claim dismissed.

Contract / Respondent was walking her dog down a street opposite the Applicant’s property / Applicant came out of her house with a larger dog than Respondent’s / Applicant leaned into her car to clear some items / Applicant heard someone shouting and saw Respondent’s dog lying on the footpath / Later the Applicant received a phone call from the Respondent saying her dog was at the vet and needed a MRI scan costing $5,000 / Respondent refused to pay for the dog's treatment / Applicant paid for the MRI / MRI revealed there was no sign of a dog bite and that condition could have been caused by other factors / Respondent paid for additional vet bills when informed the dog would otherwise be put down / Applicant claimed $6,000 for cost of vet bill / Held: parties came to an agreement to share vet costs before coming to the Tribunal / Agreement should not be disturbed / Claim dismissed.

Negligence / Applicant was parked in his car on the side of the road when he was hit by another car / Respondent then drove past and parked ahead of the Applicant / Applicant took a video of the damage to his own vehicle and noted damage on the Respondent's car / Respondent denied he hit the Applicant's car / Respondent also heard a crash and saw a white car speed past / Respondent stated there was no damage to his vehicle / Respondent claimed he pulled over as a witness, not because he was liable / Held: onus was on the Applicant to prove on the balance of probabilities that the damage was caused in the manner he described / Claim not proven to the required standard / Claim dismissed.

Bankruptcy / Applicant was declared bankrupt / Respondent kept charging Applicant accounting software fees despite Applicant ending her bankruptcy  / Applicant claimed being discharged of accounting fees after the end of her bankruptcy / Held : Applicant does not have to pay accounting software fees as Respondent had confirmed with Applicant that she did not have to pay accounting software fees at the end of her bankruptcy / Claim allowed.

Contract / Consumer Guarantees Act 1990 / Civil Aviation Act 1990 / Applicant booked flights with the Respondent which connected with another flight onto their final destination / First flight delayed due to mechanical issues which meant they missed their connecting flight /  Applicant booked a new flight with Respondent / Upon arriving at the airport, Applicant advised their flight was cancelled and a new departure time was issued / Applicant claimed damages of $877.20 for the cost of rescheduled flights / Applicant claimed Respondent failed to provide services within a reasonable time / Held: delay was due to force majeure / Respondent could not have reasonably foreseen propeller system failure / No entitlement to damages due to delay / Claim dismissed.

Fraud / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Respondent sent a quote email to Applicant for flooring with bank account for payment / Applicant replied and asked for a requote / Applicant received an email from a hacker impersonating the Respondent who provided her with an alternative bank account for payment / Applicant then paid $5,007.83 into the hacker account / Payment was discovered by the bank but could not be recovered / Applicant paid $5,007.84 to the flooring company and verified the bank account over the phone / Respondent installed the flooring but took the position that the Applicant still needed to pay the full amount / Applicant sought a declaration that she was not liable to pay the sum she paid to the hacker account / Held: Respondent should bear the risk of what happened / Businesses are in a better position than consumers to insure against the risk of hacker fraud / Applicant not liable to pay $5,007.83 / Claim granted.

Contract / Specific performance / Applicant won online auction to purchase sports car and several car parts from Respondent / Respondent believed there had been manipulation of auction process and did not release car or parts to Applicant / Applicant claims Respondent repudiated contract / Applicant claims for specific performance of contract / Held: Respondent repudiated contract / Applicant was willing buyer and Respondent did not make goods available to them / Held: Applicant entitled to car and parts / Held: in lieu of specific performance, Respondent to pay Applicant $30,000 / Claim upheld.

Contract/ Enforceability / Vexatious claim / Applicant parked their vehicle in car park owned by the respondent / Applicant was unable to get a ticket to authorise their parking / Applicant stayed in their car for 54 minutes / Applicant was issued with a parking ticket of $65.00, “plus further administration costs” / Applicant claimed there was no contract / Applicant claimed that the penalty was unenforceable / Respondent claimed that the claims of the applicant were vexatious or frivolous / Held: there was a contract between the applicant and the respondent as the applicant knew that there were conditions for parking in this location / Held: The penalty of the $65.00 “plus further administration costs” is enforceable to protect the respondents reasonable interests / Held: the applicant’s claim is not vexatious or frivolous as they genuinely believed they were being treated unfairly / Applicant to pay respondent a total of $127.50 / Claim dismissed

Negligence / Land Transport (Road User) Rules 2004 / Applicant and Respondent were involved in a motor vehicle accident on a narrow road / Respondent’s truck had to cross the middle line to avoid veering off the road / Applicant swerved to avoid the Respondent's truck and crashed into a tree / Respondent claimed Applicant was speeding round the corner / Applicant claimed Respondent’s truck had crossed the middle line and onto his lane. / Held: legal duty to drive as near as practicable to the left side of the roadway / Truck was driving as far left as possible given circumstances / No general duty of care on trucks to have pilot vehicles / Neither party was negligent / Claim dismissed.

Contract / Motor vehicle collision / Applicants took their vehicle to Respondent to check out a noise. Whilst in the care of the Respondent the car had a minor collision and scraped against another vehicle / The applicants claimed the radiator started leaking as a result of the collision. Applicant claimed insurance and wanted all four tyres repainted. Additionally, applicant claimed the incident devalued the vehicle by $5,000  and the collision caused emotional stress / Held: collision was a low speed side-swipe and unlikely to cause structural damage. Vehicles depreciate naturally therefore the decrease in value was not caused by the collision. Motor vehicles collisions are an inconvenience but they are not uncommon. No evidence that the Respondents acted unreasonably to cause the applicants a greater degree of stress / Applicants have not proven their part of the claim, claim dismissed.

Tort / Applicant claims that Respondent cut cable and caused damage to home automation system / Respondent claims Applicant cut down trees on Respondent’s property / Held: Evidence does not show more likely than not that Respondent cut cable / Burden not discharged / Trees were on Respondent’s property / Trees were cut without Respondent’s consent but Respondent has no proven Applicant gave these instructions or is vicariously liable / No power to hear claims for personal injury or exemplary damages / Both claims dismissed.