by Virginia Bonanni | Mar 15, 2022 | Arbitration, NZDRC
By Belinda Green In the electronic era, documents often do not exist in physical form. Does this affect their enforceability? Recent decisions from Australia and New Zealand show that our mindset about what an original or duly certified copy is might need to change...
by Virginia Bonanni | Mar 15, 2022 | Arbitration, Conflict Management, Mediation, NZDRC
By Jo O’Dea If you have a number of related contracts between different parties and they have different dispute resolution clauses, which one do you use? SUMMARY In ZPMC- Red Box Energy Services Ltd vs Philip Jeffry Adkins and Others [2021] HKCFI 3501, there were 3...
by Virginia Bonanni | Jan 28, 2022 | Arbitration, Mediation, NZDRC, resolution issue
Can deliberate or wilful contract breaches still benefit from clauses that limit or exclude liability? The English High Court recently considered this issue in Mott Macdonald Ltd v Trant Engineering Ltd,[1] which confirmed that clauses limiting or excluding liability...
by Virginia Bonanni | Dec 17, 2021 | Arbitration, NZDRC
An overview of why well-drafted model clauses matter Introduction Contracts, like disputes, come in all shapes and sizes. Most parties to a contract are keen to get the deal finalised and signed on the dotted line as quickly as possible. There isn’t always an...
by Virginia Bonanni | Nov 2, 2021 | Conflict Management, COVID-19 Relief, Cross lease disputes, NZDRC, Property disputes
On 28 October 2021, the Government amended the Property Law Act to imply a ‘no access in an emergency clause’ into commercial leases which do not already provide for adjusted rent payment terms during an epidemic emergency. The implied clause applies from 18 August...
by Virginia Bonanni | Sep 29, 2021 | Arb-Med, Arbitration, Conflict Management, COVID-19 Relief, Cross lease disputes, Mediation, NZDRC, Property, Property disputes
The government has introduced a law change which will imply into commercial leases that don’t have an existing no access in emergency clause, a provision requiring a fair proportion of rent and outgoings to be paid when a tenant has been unable to conduct their...
by Virginia Bonanni | Sep 8, 2021 | Arbitration, Conflict Management, IT Dispute Resolution, Mediation, NZDRC
By Melissa Perkin. The UK Supreme Court in its recent judgment in Triple Point Technology v PTT Public Company[1] has brought welcome clarity in relation to the drafting and interpretation of liquidated damages clauses[2] in construction, commercial and technology...
by Natalia Vila | Sep 6, 2021 | COVID-19 Relief, Mediation, NZDRC, Property
John Green, the managing director of the New Zealand Dispute Resolution Centre has been interviewed by NBR news about the COVID-19 Rent Relief Scheme for Commercial Leases. In the interview he discussed the low cost fixed fee arbitration and mediation service put in...
by Virginia Bonanni | Sep 3, 2021 | Arbitration, Conflict Management, COVID-19 Relief, Mediation, NZDRC, resolution issue
By Belinda Green. When the COVID-19 pandemic first arrived in New Zealand, there was widespread discussion amongst the legal community about the impact the pandemic and the Government “lockdowns” might have on contracts.[1] Two main avenues for obtaining contractual...
by Virginia Bonanni | Aug 19, 2021 | Conflict Management, NZDRC
By Melissa Perkin. As we noted in our 12 August 2021 alert on amendments to the Fair Trading Act introduced by the Fair Trading Amendment Bill, significant changes are made on the application of the unfair contract terms regime to business to business or small trade...
by Virginia Bonanni | Aug 12, 2021 | Conflict Management, NZDRC, resolution issue
By Melissa Perkin. A 2018 Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) survey of small businesses found that 45 per cent of participants considered that they had been offered unfair contract terms in the last year, and 47 per cent considered that...