Disputes Tribunal of New Zealand

Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 / Contract / Applicant engaged Respondent and paid deposit to build trailer to transport tiny house / Trailer not constructed by two to three weeks as promised / Applicant claims refund of $7,000 deposit / Held: respondent breached express term of agreement to construct trailer within reasonable timeframe / Applicant entitled to cancel contract and claim refund / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $7,000 / Claim allowed.

Contract / Consumer Guarantees Act / Applicant paid Respondent $2700 as part-payment for installation of a balustrade / Applicant asked Respondent to contact her when they were ready to begin work / After a year, Applicant advised Respondent she could no longer proceed and requested a refund / Respondent refunded $2000 / Applicant claims the remaining $700 / Held: There was a failure of guarantee by Respondent because they had not provided the service in a reasonable timeframe as per the Consumer Guarantees Act / Claim allowed, Respondent to pay Applicant $700.

Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant contracted Respondent for gardening services and paid $2,000 deposit / Respondent delayed work for various reasons over several months / Applicant cancelled contract with Respondent and claims $2,000 refund / Held: Respondent failed to complete service within reasonable timeframe / Respondent must pay Applicant $2,000 / Claim allowed.

Gift / Dispute over household items given by Applicant to his son and then daughter-in-law / Whether items were gifted or loaned / Held: inconclusive whether items were lent or gifted / Claim dismissed.

Contract / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant entered into a contract with Respondent for internet and landline service / Service outages were not communicated to Applicant / Applicant’s mother relied on connection to contact medical services / Held: Applicant entitled to cancel contract / Applicant not liable to pay $907.50 invoice / Claim allowed.

Contract / Applicant and Respondent signed gym membership agreement / Applicant claims no payment received and Respondent neither attended gym nor cancelled membership / Applicant claims $935 for six months of fees / Held: agreement does not allow Respondent to cancel membership until six months' fees have been paid / Respondent bound to pay for the first six months but the sixth-month fee cannot be claimed as it is not yet due / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $850 / Claim partially allowed.

Gradual Process Injury - s 26(2), Incapacity – s103 Accident Compensation Act 2001. Appeal relating to weekly compensation and cover for shoulder injury. Decision to decline cover is reserved and decision relating to compensation overturned. Direction to reassess Appellant's claim for weekly compensation. Outcome: claim allowed.

Contract / Insurance / Respondent is Applicant's insurer / Applicant claimed Respondent breached contract for declining her claim for payment for loss of jewellery / Held: Applicant did not provide proof of ownership / Applicant has not proved that Respondent breached its contract / No order of payment could be made / Claim dismissed.

Contract / Applicant parked car in Respondent’s carpark / Sign indicated that a ticket was required to be on display / Applicant failed to display ticket and received breach notice of $65 / Applicant unsuccessfully disputed notice / Further $20 added for late payment, which Applicant paid / Applicant parked in another one of the Respondent’s carparks / Applicant did not activate carpark payment app properly / Applicant received $60 breach notice, which she disputed / Respondent advised Applicant they would waive this notice and pay Applicant $45 for filing fee to the Tribunal / Applicant did not accept offer in full as she wanted the initial breach notice considered / Held: No suggestion that full terms and conditions not visible / Applicant breached agreement by failing to obtain and display ticket / No evidence that $85 fee was unreasonable / Claim for refund dismissed / Respondent to pay $45 for filing in accordance with their offer / Claim granted in part.

Contract / Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 / Applicant bought a car online from Respondents / Applicant claims a full refund of $9000 plus costs incurred from the Respondents due to alleged misrepresentation by the Respondents / Held: There was no misrepresentation by the Respondent that induced the Applicant to purchase car because Applicant had the car checked by a professional mechanic / Claim dismissed.

Damages / Applicants and the Respondent entered into a sale and purchase agreement for a property / Respondent did not settle on date required by the contract / Applicants claimed $2,144,24 for additional moving costs, loss of income and compensation for emotional and psychological distress / Whether the Respondent was liable to pay damages / Whether the costs claimed by the Applicants were reasonable additional expenses or damages / Held: additional moving costs reasonably foreseeable / Amount claimed for additional moving costs was payable as an expense resulting from delayed settlement / Loss of income and additional food costs foreseeable / Emotional and psychological distress claim not considered / Respondent liable to pay damages for late settlement under the contract / Respondent ordered to pay $1634.00 to the Applicants / Claim granted.

Contract / Consumers Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant purchased dog from Respondent / Applicant claims the dog has two significant health issues / Applicant took the dog to the veterinarian for treatment / Applicant claimed $30,000 in vet bills / Held: Respondent supplied dog in trade / Dog was not of acceptable quality because of health conditions / Claim partly allowed / Respondent to pay Applicant $3,307.83.

Contract / Applicant and Respondents were in a relationship / Applicant and Respondents jointly purchased a bed for $7600 / Applicant paid his half and Respondent paid under a credit contract with the retailer / Applicant claimed $3800 from the Applicant for his half share following their split / Applicant also claimed $9510.12 for foreign travel and $1550 for tiling work/ Held: foreign trip and tiling were social arrangements that had no contract basis / Applicant entitled to compensation for half share of the bed / Respondent preferred to keep the bed / Respondent ordered to pay $2000 as per valuations and Respondent use of bed after separation/ Claim granted in part.