Disputes Tribunal of New Zealand

Contract / De facto relationship between Applicant and Respondent / Respondent lived in Applicant’s house without paying rent / Applicant claimed 48 weeks of rent arrears at $250/week / Respondent counterclaimed for labour and costs of renovating Applicant’s property / Held: no agreement that Respondent would pay rent to Applicant / No agreement that Applicant would reimburse Respondent for renovations / Claim and counterclaim dismissed.

Tort / Negligence / Duty of care / Respondent operated water blaster to clean car park in close proximity to Applicant's vehicle damaging vehicle's paint / Applicant claimed insurer to be compensated for loss incurred when it repaired damage to vehicle / Held: Respondent breached duty of care to ensure it did not cause damage to Applicant's vehicle / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant's insurer $6,094.43 / Claim allowed.

Contract / Applicant claimed Respondents requested help to purchase car and promised to pay money back / Applicant applied for finance company loan to purchase car / Purchase price was $41,000.00, and deposit of $16,500.00 was paid / Amount of loan to Applicant was $27,560.64 plus interest / One Respondent left both keys in car and notified other Respondent / Respondents later reported the car stolen by one of Applicant’s staff / Applicant denied any of its staff took the car / Respondents stopped making payments but Applicant paid loan off / Applicant claimed $26,263.45 for outstanding balance and related costs / Held: Respondents agreed to pay Applicant for car based on texts, voice messages, and payments made / No evidence Applicant’s staff stole car / Disappearance of car did not excuse Respondents from paying Applicant / Respondents liable for amount of loan and related costs less the $2,296.72 instalments / Respondent ordered to pay $26,263.45 / Claim allowed.

Consumer law / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant engaged Respondent to supply and install electronic gate / Respondent gave quote of $10,887, Applicant paid $2500 deposit / Respondent began work, said he would return following month to complete job, but never did despite Applicant’s efforts to follow up / Applicant had work completed by different supplier / Applicant claimed $4990 for refund and damages /  Held: Respondent failed to complete work within reasonable time / Respondent failed to remedy failure within reasonable time / Applicant entitled to extra cost of having work completed by another supplier / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $4990 / Claim allowed.

Contract / Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 / Applicant purchased car from Respondent in private sale / Applicant test drove car with Respondent, Respondent told him there were no issues with car / Applicant had vehicle inspected on day of purchase, inspection report noted vehicle was in fair condition for age and mileage, recommended mechanical breakdown insurance / Fault light appeared following day, diagnostics found number of stored faults / Applicant claimed Respondent misrepresented vehicle, sought $4,999.00 compensation / Held: Respondent’s representations related to his experience with vehicle, insufficient evidence to prove statements were untrue / Initial inspection report likely main factor in Applicant’s decision to purchase, Respondent’s statements not significant inducement to sale / Claim dismissed.

Contract / Car registered to Applicant parked in Respondent’s carpark in excess of maximum period / Applicant received parking breach notice / Applicant not in possession of car at time of breach / Applicant claimed they were not liable for parking fine / Held: driver of Applicant’s car entered contract with Respondent when entering carpark / Applicant not party to contract / Respondent could not impose liability on someone not already party to contract / Liability for breach rests on driver, not Applicant / No legal obligation on Applicant to disclose identity of driver / Claim allowed.

Contract / Applicants engaged respondent to provide styling for their wedding / Included flowers, decorations, tableware, Mandap and seating / Price including set up and pack down was $3000.00 / Applicants paid in full and expected styling team to set up between 8-11am on day of wedding / By 2pm only Mandap set up and nothing decorated / Venue able to provide substitute decorations at last minute / Applicants claim for a refund / Held: applicants entitled for damages for extra expense in decorations incurred on their wedding day but are limited to a claim of $3000.00 / Claim allowed, respondents to pay applicants $3000.00

Request for rehearing / Miscarriage of justice / Disputes Tribunals Act 1988 / Respondent did not attend hearing by teleconference / Respondent submitted unfamiliarity with the Disputes Tribunal and its processes / Respondent applied for rehearing / Held: appropriate to allow Respondent to be heard / Previous order [2023] NZDT 556 set aside / Rehearing granted.

Contract / Applicant ran poker events business / Applicant was approached by a person introducing himself as the Respondent’s manager / Presumed representative entered into a contract with Applicant to run poker nights at the Respondent’s premises / Applicant contacted Respondent for payment / Respondent stated their presumed representative never worked for them / Applicant claimed $4542.50, invoice for contract and time spent chasing debt / Held: Respondent did not enter into a contract with the Applicant / Person claiming to have an authority to bind the Respondent into a contract did not actually have it / Evidence by Respondent’s representatives established this / No authority established / Running an event at the premises not sufficient to bind the owner of the premises / Claim dismissed.

Contract / Respondent borrowed $29,000.00 from Applicant in loan agreement to purchase car with Respondent to make weekly repayments at unspecified amount / Respondent made several payments but $19,000.00 remaining to be paid / Applicant claimed $21,178.00, being unpaid loan principal, $550.00 default payment fee, $1,000.00 unpaid balance of previous loan, $448.00 mechanical work and $180.00 filing fee / Held: Respondent breached agreement by not paying loan by contracted date / Applicant entitled to repayment of principal / No evidence to prove other amounts claimed / Respondent to pay applicant $19,000.00 / Claim partially granted.

Contract / Misrepresentation / Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 / Applicant purchased vehicle from Respondent / Applicant believed vehicle was registered as a seven seater / Afterwards, Applicant discovered vehicle only had five seater capacity / Applicant claimed Respondent misrepresented seating capacity / Applicant claimed $1,500 for compensation and cost of converting vehicle / Held: LTSA information referring to vehicle as seven seater was likely in error / Respondent did not advertise vehicle as seven seater / Applicant had reasonable opportunity to enquire about seating capacity but failed to do so / Claim dismissed.

Contract / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant purchased flights through electronic booking website which included a transit flight / Transit country required a visa which Applicant was made aware of at the time of booking / Applicant went to check into his flight but was denied boarding because he did not have the required visa to transit / His fare was non-refundable and he suffered a loss of $1228.83 for which he now seeks reimbursement / Held: booking through an electronic terminal requires joint responsibility and care / Respond outlined repeatedly on their site that visas were his responsibility which Applicant accepted at the time of booking / Respondent did not fail to make the booking with reasonable care and skill / Claim dismissed.