Disputes Tribunal of New Zealand

Contract / Applicant gave Respondent, his friend of 10 years, $10,000 to help him buy a house / Applicant claimed $8,600 unpaid loan balance / Respondent acknowledged the money was a loan, but denied he was required to repay it, claiming he had made several payments to Applicant offsetting loan balance / Held: the $10,000 was a loan which had to be repaid / Respondent breached agreement by failing to repay balance of $8,600 within reasonable period of time / Respondent ordered to pay $8,600 / Claim allowed.

Contract / Civil Aviation Act 1990 / Applicant booked an international flight on Respondent’s airline / Flight did not depart due to engineering problems / Applicant was rebooked on flight the next day, but his visas had expired and he was not permitted on plane / Applicant sought $4,000.00 in compensation for additional expenses incurred due to cancelled flight / Held: Respondent did not breach its contract with Applicant / Respondent was allowed to postpone flights for engineering issues / Respondent rebooked Applicant on next available flight and refunded his fare when he could not travel / Applicant was responsible for obtaining correct visas knowing that delays may occur / Claim dismissed.

Consumer law / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (CGA) / Applicant purchased laptop from Respondent / Six years later, laptop developed a fault / Applicant had laptop investigated, was told it was no longer under warranty and was advised to buy a new laptop / Applicant sought an order that Respondent was liable to pay him the cost of his new laptop, $3,799.00, and the $99.00 fee he was charged to assess the problem, plus interest / Held: laptop had functioned well for just over 6 years before fault developed / Reasonable consumer would consider six years a reasonable period for laptop to last / No breach of CGA / Claim dismissed.

Contract / Respondent approached Applicant about having a billboard placed at its premises / Applicant provided Respondent with estimated costs for gaining resource consent / Respondent replied saying “yes please proceed the application” / Applicant claimed $8,790.17, being three unpaid invoices plus Tribunal filing fee / Respondent accepted owing 50% of one invoice, but disputed all other charges / Held: it was a term of the contract that Respondent would pay 100% of the costs of the resource consent / More likely than not that Respondent was to pay for the traffic and urban reports required for the consent application / Applicant was not responsible for advising Respondent it would need its landlord’s consent / Applicant entitled to all invoiced costs, but unable to claim Tribunal fee / Respondent ordered to pay $8,610.17 / Claim allowed.

Negligence / Respondent crashed vehicle into Applicant’s retaining wall causing damage to the wall / Applicant’s insurer claimed $8,100.42, being the cost to repair the retaining wall less depreciation / Held: Respondent breached her duty of care when she lost control of her vehicle / Respondent was negligent and therefore liable for the damage caused by her actions / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant’s insurance company $8,100.42 / Claim allowed.

Consumer law / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (CGA) / Applicant purchased a boat from Respondent / Applicant identified a “knocking noise” in the engine and informed Respondent / Respondent replaced engine parts / Applicant claimed engine subsequently failed / Respondent sent boat to an authorised agent for specialised repairs / Applicant threatened legal action / Respondent offered to repair engine as per its right to remedy under the CGA / Applicant collected boat from Respondent before any repairs could be undertaken / Applicant claimed $30,000.00 in damages for the boat repairs and emotional harm / Held: Respondent complied with its obligations under the CGA / Applicant not entitled to compensation for failed repair as they uplifted the boat, making the repair impossible / Applicant failed to prove Respondent damaged boat / Applicant not entitled to compensation for stress and emotional harm of his own making / Claim dismissed.

Contract / Negligence / Applicant Trust entered contract to purchase herd of cows from Applicant Company / Company intended sale to be conditional on a conversion of their property to kiwifruit / When kiwifruit project was cancelled, Company pulled out of sale of cows / Trust sought compensation from both the Company and the Respondent Agent who had brokered the deal / Agent paid Trust $27,000 in good faith / Trust obtained Tribunal order against Company for $18,472.66 / Company filed claim against Agent for $26,281.10 on grounds Agent breached duties to Company under agency agreement / Agent sought indemnity from Trust to protect against liability to Company / Trust filed claim seeking declaration of non-liability to Agent / Held: Both Company and Agent had some responsibility for failure to include kiwifruit condition in contract with Trust / Insufficient evidence that Agent breached its obligations to Company / Agent protected by liability limitation clause in contract against liabi…

Insurance / Property / Motor vehicle collision involving three drivers / Applicant claimed $7,036 for losses suffered because of vehicle being uneconomic to repair / Second Respondent counter-claimed $9,000 pre-accident value of his vehicle / Held: not proven that First Respondent entered Second Respondent’s lane / Not proven that First Respondent is liable in negligence / Second Respondent liable for resulting damage to Applicant’s vehicle / Second Respondent ordered to pay Applicant’s Insurer $7,036 / Claim against First Respondent dismissed / Claim against Second Respondent allowed.

Contract law / Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 / Applicant won online auction to purchase vehicle from Respondent / Respondent says his brother listed vehicle on auction without his permission / Applicant claimed $11,900 which is the difference between the winning bid and what the vehicle resold for 5 days later / Held: enforceable contract between Applicant and Respondent / Respondent breached contract / Remedy being difference between the market price of vehicle and the winning bid at auction / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $10,900 / Claim allowed.

Consumer law / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicants booked holiday accommodation online / Accommodation was advertised online by owner’s booking agent, the Respondent / Applicants paid $940.00 for two nights plus $800.00 bond / On arrival, Applicants discovered a dog on the property, key in the door, doors unlocked, no fence between holiday property and the other house on site, and parcels at the front door / Applicants advised owner of their concerns / Owner arriving about 50 minutes later / Owner also phoned her daughter who collected her dog from the property / Applicants also rang the Respondent to advise them of their concerns / Respondent advised by owner that she was on her way back to address the Applicants’ concerns so took no further action / Applicants secured alternative accommodation / Applicants claimed $2000.00, refund of $940.00 paid for accommodation, alternative accommodation costs and general damages / Held: Applicants were unhappy about the dog and parcels but …

Contract / Misrepresentation / Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 / Applicant purchased quadbike from Respondent for $2000.00 / Advertisement stated bike was 4WD / After purchase, Applicant discovered it was a 2WD bike / Conversion to 4WD costed at $2,500.00 - $2,750.00 / Applicant claimed bike not worth spending that much on and sought a refund of $2000.00 plus Tribunal fee of $90.00 / Held: Respondent misrepresented bike in advertisement which induced Applicant to purchase it / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $2000.00 / Tribunal fee cannot be awarded as not exceptional circumstances / Claim granted in part.

Contract / Respondent entered into Deed of Lease with Applicant to lease property / Lease was to take effect on 1 August 2021 / Covid-19 lockdown took place between August 2021–October 2021 / Applicant sought $30,000.00 for unpaid rent and outgoings / Held: Covid-19 pandemic legislation did not vary signed Deed of Lease / Legislation provided a guide for Lessors and Lessees to come to an arrangement for rent relief / Applicant attempted to enter into discussions about rent relief with Respondent, but Respondent did not engage / Because Respondent failed to engage, agreement between the parties remained as per Deed of Lease / Applicant entitled to claim $30,000.00 for overdue rent and outgoings that Respondent agreed to pay and failed to pay / Respondent bound by terms of agreement / Respondent ordered to pay $30,000.00 / Claim allowed.

Contract / Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 / Applicant ordered a forklift from Respondent in September 2022 /  Forklift had to be sourced from overseas / Respondent stated the delivery would be in “44 weeks approx.” / Applicant paid $6,891.95 deposit to Respondent / In April 2023, Applicant inquired about the forklift and was advised that delivery would be in November 2023 / In August 2023, Applicant sought a further update and was advised that the expected delivery would be December 2023, or January 2024 / Applicant advised that it could not wait any longer and cancelled the order  / Applicant requested a  deposit refund, which the Respondent declined / Applicant sought an order for deposit amount, less the amount of an invoice from an associated company of Respondent for $3,209.87 / Held: delay in delivery went beyond what was reasonable / Delivery of forklift within the approximate timeline was a matter of importance / Failure by the Respondent to deliver in approximately 44 we…