Disputes Tribunal of New Zealand

Contract / Respondent signed contract for services as independent contractor with Applicant / Respondent terminated contract leaving balance of advances on commission paid / Applicant claimed payment of weekly advances and insurance premiums incurred on Respondent's behalf / Held: Respondent liable to refund advance commissions received if he did not achieve commission payment / Respondent breached contract by failing to refund Applicant for insurance premiums paid on his behalf / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $14,109.91 / Claim allowed.

Contract / Applicant provided estimate of $13,763.64 to Respondent for kitchen renovation building work / Respondent paid $20,670.43 / Applicant claimed $10,078.15 for unpaid invoice / Held: no meeting of parties' minds that Respondent’s payment had been made in full satisfaction of claim / Applicant entitled to pursue claim for further payment / Respondent liable to pay only 15% increase on original estimate as Applicant had no tangible evidence on prices / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $3,130.56 / Claim allowed in part.

Contract / Misrepresentation / Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 / Applicant purchased car from Respondent / Respondent asked whether car required work / Applicant said not aware that car needed work / Afterwards Respondent discovered vehicle required replacement parts / Respondent sought $915.09 for replacement parts / Held: Respondent misrepresented condition of vehicle to Applicant / Applicant  induced to purchase car by misrepresentation / Respondent provided evidence of cost of replacement parts, $915.09 / Respondent ordered to pay $915.09 / Claim granted.

Contract / Applicant engaged Respondent to renovate her house / Contract was for estimated costs of $305,211.91, signed in October / By following June, Applicant had paid $305,000 / Applicant cancelled contract because of increased costs / Project was abandoned, not all work was completed / Applicant sought cost of remediation, estimated at $29,933.00 / Respondent counterclaimed $24,890.65 for building work completed before contract was cancelled / Respondent claimed increased costs was due to higher cost of building supplies / Respondent provided evidence of invoices, expenditure and variations / Held: Applicant cannot expect the certainty of a fixed price contract when only estimated costs were agreed / Respondent had completed invoiced work / Applicant liable for the invoiced amount, $24,890.65 / Respondent not liable for any remediated costs / Claim dismissed / Counterclaim granted.

Contract / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (CGA) / Applicant purchased CCTV cameras from Respondent via an online auction / Auction automatically sent Applicant's address which was incorrect / Applicant emailed correct address to Respondent before goods were shipped and Respondent replied / Respondent sent cameras to wrong address / Recipient refused to return cameras / Applicant sought refund of $629.95 and costs / Held: CGA provided a guarantee as to delivery / As Applicant updated his address before cameras were sent, liability for undelivered goods remained with seller / Respondent ordered to refund purchase price of $629.95 / Costs claim dismissed / Claim granted in part.

Negligence / Heavy rain caused section of bank bordering Applicant and Respondent property to slip / Slip damaged Applicant’s trailer / Applicant claimed damages of $791.60 / Applicant claimed legal costs of $3,762.00 / Respondent counterclaimed legal costs of $1,951.32 / Held: Respondent did not breach duty of care / Neither party entitled to costs / Claim dismissed.

Contract / Respondent engaged Applicant to do electrical work / Dispute arose and Applicant did not complete work / Applicant claimed $9,585 for value of work provided to Respondent / Total sum included claims for work relating to first and second properties, and disbursement for power connection / Held: Applicant entitled for payment but not for all hours claimed / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $6,539 / Claim partially allowed.

Insurance / Applicant hired vehicle from Respondent / Collision involving Applicant and Third Respondent who was driving vehicle owned by Second Respondent / Second and Third Respondents accepted they caused collision / Insurance claim settled between insurers of Respondent and Second Respondent / Applicant claims back $2,040 bond paid to Respondent to cover insurance excess / Alternatively Applicant claims that Second Respondent should pay  / Held: Respondent not entitled to keep bond paid by Applicant / Applicant did not cause crash / Respondent has not proven they paid excess to insurer / Claim against Respondent upheld / Respondent to pay Applicant $2,040 / Claim against Second and Third Respondents dismissed.

Negligence / Applicant's property shared boundary with road reserve owned and managed by Respondent / Applicant says trees that fell causing damage to Applicant's property were from Respondent's road reserve / Applicant claimed $1,900 for damages and cost of removing fallen trees and debris / Held: Respondent under duty of care to take reasonable steps to prevent or minimise risk of trees falling during strong winds / Respondent breached duty / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $1,518 / Claim partially allowed.

Contract / Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 / Applicant and his partner booked Respondent’s venue for their wedding / Contracted price was $5,850 / Applicant paid $600 deposit / Respondent advised Applicant month before wedding date that the venue was no longer available / Applicant and partner had to find an alternative venue at short notice/ Applicant claimed compensation of $3,751.00 from Respondent, cost of alternative venue / Held: Respondent repudiated contract / Respondent breach contractual term to provide premises / Applicant entitled to cancel contract and go elsewhere / Applicant entitled to compensation because of cost, time and inconvenience of changing venues / Applicant’s claim not allowed in full as it would be unjust for him to pay nothing for wedding venue and associated costs / Applicant entitled to 50 percent of costs claim / Respondent ordered to pay $1,875.00 to Applicant/ Claim granted in part.

Procedure / Rehearing application / Applicant’s bundle of documents not filed by hearing time / Documents contained considerable detail not known to Referee at hearing / Applicant sought a rehearing based on new information / Held: further hearing required to make decision based on new information / Hearing adjourned.

Contract / Applicant took out $1.1 million loan with Respondent secured over property / Property damaged by landslip and sold / Loan became unsecured / Parties entered contract for repayment with no interest to be reviewed every 3 months / All payments made on time but Respondent credited some payments to wrong account and referred loan to credit agency / Further contract entered that balance be paid off by lump sum with remainder due to be written off / Applicant claimed Respondent’s actions breached contractual and other obligations / Applicant claimed $43,717.00 compensation for loss / Held: Respondent did not significantly breach any obligations to Applicant / Respondent could have provided better service but admitted highlighted errors / Repayment terms could be described as lenient rather than aggressive / Claim dismissed.

Contract / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant ordered three items from the Internet to be delivered by Respondent / Items did not arrive on time / Applicant claims compensation from Respondent for failing to deliver goods within reasonable time / Held: Respondent not entitled to pay compensation to Applicant / Applicant did not have a contract for delivery services with Respondent / Claim dismissed.