New Zealand: Trials & Appeals & Compensation

A recent US appeal court decision – where a firm was stripped of a positive US$400 million verdict because it had destroyed documents unhelpful to its case – provides a useful reminder to New Zealand businesses that their discovery obligations may arise earlier than they think and that they need to have robust systems in place.

In the recent "Leaky Homes" case of Dicks v Hobson Swan Construction Limted & Ors, Baragwanath J, HC Auckland, CIV 2004-404-1065, 22 December 2006, the High Court awarded Hobsonville homeowner Colleen Dicks a total of $250,900 to meet the cost of repairing her 12 year old house, to compensate her for three years of distress and to meet the costs of her expert witnesses ($29,684.43).

In its report Delivering Justice for All - A Vision for New Zealand Courts and Tribunals (NZLC R85, Wgtn.,.2004) the Law Commission addresses the issue of name suppression in the criminal courts, and recommends changes.