Disputes Tribunal of New Zealand

Contract / Tort / Applicant booked restaurant for event / Respondent then cancelled venue hire / Applicant claims return of $8,635.00 paid to restaurant / Applicant also claims against Respondent in negligence, claiming his failure to adequately arrange hire led to financial loss / Upon investigation, there appears to be no such restaurant / Applicant claims Respondent is owner of Restaurant / Respondent states they are just employee / Held: tribunal is unable to determine in what capacity the Respondent is involved with restaurant / Respondent cannot therefore be held personally liable under contract / Tribunal does not have jurisdiction to decide on Applicant’s negligence claim / Claim dismissed.

Contract / Council inspected Applicant’s swimming pool and required it be emptied until fencing repaired / There was heavy rain and pool lifted and deep end and was damaged / Applicant filed claim with their insurer, the Respondent / Respondent declined claim due to an exclusion for subterranean pressure in insurance contract / Respondent offered $5000.00 as a good will gesture / Applicant claims the sum of $30,00.00 towards the cost of replacing the pool / Held: not proven that pool lifted due to subterranean pressure / Exclusion clause in contract does not apply / Outcome: claim allowed, Respondent to pay sum to Applicant.

Contract / Misrepresentation / Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 / Applicant purchased 2007 car from Respondent for $7000 / Car advertised as ‘reliable’ / Four days after purchase, car broke down, mechanical issues discovered / Applicant claimed cost of attending to mechanical issues / Held: reliable cars do not break down soon after purchase / Car was therefore misrepresented / Applicant would not have bought car at price she did if aware of issues / Compensation should be reasonable and proportionate, taking into account age and mileage of car, and absence of ‘due diligence’ on Applicant’s part in not getting car checked before purchase / Applicant entitled to compensation for cost of getting car back on road / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $388.66 / Claim allowed.

Contract / Property / Applicant sold property to Respondent / Respondent concerned whether property vacated and cleaned before settlement / Applicant and Respondent agreed Respondent to retain $5,000 from settlement until property vacated and cleaned to an acceptable standard / Applicant claimed $5,422.14 which includes retention amount, interest and penalty, and tribunal filing fee / Held: Respondent unable to claim for accommodation costs / No obligation on Applicant to clean property / Applicant not entitled to interest or penalty payment / Respondent not entitled to compensation for tribunal fee and legal fees / Respondent entitled to retain $200.05 for failure to provide possession in accordance with agreement / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $4,799.95 / Claim allowed.

Contract / Applicants stayed at holiday park every Summer for over twenty years / Applicants had a preferred waterfront site / Applicants unable to make January 2022 booking and moved it to following year / Applicants’ requested site was rebooked by prior guests / Respondent failed to notify Applicant prior to arrival / Applicants refused to accept alternative site / Applicants claimed $3,284.00 for accommodation and assorted expenses / Respondent counterclaimed $1,709.00 for cancellation fee and related costs / Held: Respondent breached contract with Applicants / Respondent should have notified Applicants in advance / Confirmation did not stipulate that Applicants had been allocated a different site / Applicants not required to meet obligations under contract / Applicants alternative accommodation expenses did not exceed holiday park costs / Applicants awarded $500 general damages / Claim allowed in part and counterclaim dismissed.

Consumer law / Applicant’s family stayed for one night at Respondent’s accommodation / Applicant charged $179 for accommodation and $120 for cleaning / On arrival Applicant noticed ants and a cockroach in the kitchen / Applicant claimed for $120 cleaning charge as she said the property has not been cleaned properly / Held: property was still fit for purpose / Insect infestation was small and limited to one room / Insects did not cause any significant disturbance to Applicant’s stay / Presence of insects did not meant the services were not fit for purpose / Claim dismissed.

Contract law / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant inspected Respondent’s swing mooring / Applicant sent Respondent a report of the inspection and an invoice for $1,474.31 / Respondent disputed this amount and paid $579.60 /  Respondent’s boat broke free from the moor and grounded / Applicant seeks payment of balance of its invoice / Respondent counter claims seeking compensation for costs of recovering of the mooring and re floating the boat / Held: Evidence shows amount charged by Applicant for labour and materials was a reasonable price / Several factors that caused headrope to snap / Not proven that Applicants were liable for the boat slipping the mooring / Claim allowed, Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $579.60 / Counter claim dismissed.

Contract / Applicant’s car damaged during break in / Applicant made insurance claim with Respondent / Respondent disputed whether all damage claimed was incurred by break in / Respondent approved claim of only $743.91 for panel and paint damage, considered damage to tailgate and locking system pre-existent / Applicant claimed $7950 for repair of locks and tailgates / Held: evidence did not prove damage was result of break in / Claim dismissed.

Contract / Tort of detinue / Respondent purchased vehicle from Applicant / Respondent returned vehicle to repair minor defects / Respondent refused to pay panel beater's $250 bill / Applicant had possession of vehicle and notified Respondent vehicle would be moved into storage and would accumulate storage cost / Applicant claimed payment for storage costs / Respondent counter-claimed damages / Held: no contractual agreement for payment of storage fees / Applicant wrongfully claimed right to hold vehicle / No legal right to hold goods until owner of goods pays a third party / Respondent not entitled to damages as refusal to pay panel beater's bill exacerbated stand-off / Claim dismissed / Counter-claim dismissed.

Contract / Fair Trading Act 1986 / Respondent contracted Applicant to repair her laptop / Laptop had water damage / Applicant diagnosed damage and invoiced Respondent $57.50 / Invoice included a reference to 20% per month compounding finance fee and that costs for non-payment would be charged / Respondent failed to pay invoice by due date / Applicant added penalty interest of 18% per month / Respondent paid $50, leaving a balance due of $7.50 / Applicant continued to add penalty interest / Applicant claimed $1,000.00, unpaid balance with interest of $50.50 and costs of $949.50 / Held: terms and conditions were excessive, punitive, and not enforceable / Terms and conditions did not form part of contract as not known to Respondent prior to contracting / Respondent owed original balance of original invoice / Respondent ordered to pay $7.50 / Claim allowed in part.

Contract / Applicant engaged Respondent to assist with demolition and building work / Project not completed by Respondent / Unclear from evidence what agreed price for the work was / Held: parties agreed that Applicant to be charged $30 per hour / Fair assessment of Respondent’s work on the project found to be 84 hours / Applicant paid $2,287 more than this and entitled to be repaid this by the Respondent

Contract / Quasi-contract / Dispute Tribunal Act 1988 / Applicant asked by Respondent's employee to prepare reports on building defects / Applicant informed compensation for work will form part of liquidator's costs / Applicant claimed invoice $15,122.50 / Respondent disputed it owes any money to Applicant / Held: Respondent's employee have the ability to contract on behalf of Respondent / No contract between Applicant and Respondent / Respondent repackaged Applicant's report with minimal additional changes / Quasi-contract applies / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $15,122.50 / Claim allowed.

Contract / Applicant sold real estate as independent contractor for Respondent / Sale and purchase agreements for new townhouses were signed in 2018, but settled when build completed in 2022 / Respondent stopped trading in 2019 / Respondent remained registered pending late settlements / When townhouses completed, Applicant contacted Respondent expecting commission as selling agent / Respondent dispersed deposit without paying Applicant commission / Applicant claimed $17,978.64 commission plus 14% interest / Held: contract between parties was not terminated when Applicant signed with new agency / Applicant entitled to commission / No contractual provision for interest, but can be awarded at Tribunal’s discretion / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant 18,797.27 / Claim allowed.