Mainzeal Property v. Yan & Ors This week, the New Zealand High Court awarded $36m in damages against directors of Mainzeal, once one of New Zealand’s leading property and construction companies, including former Prime Minister Dame Jenny Shipley. The damages are the highest awarded for reckless trading in New Zealand’s history. The case raises a […]
Kaboko Mining Limited v Van Heerden (No 3) [2018] FCA 2055 When an insurance policy includes a clause stating that cover will not extend to any loss based on the insolvency of a company, you need to be careful about identifying what actually caused the loss. In a recent case, the Federal Court rejected the […]
Wotton Kearney is delighted to announce that a substantial new healthcare and medico-legal team, including three partners, joined its Australasian healthcare practice on 1 January 2019 based in Auckland and Wellington. Partners Sean O’Sullivan, Aimee Credin and Adam Holloway, Senior Associates Murray Grant and Victoria Waalkens, and Solicitor Rebecca Daley have joined Wotton Kearney from […]
Are fines appropriate penalties to deter companies and directors from breaching WHS laws when they can be indemnified by their insurers? Should insurance policies that cover these monetary penalties be made illegal and void? At the moment, companies and directors are able to insure against the risk of fines for breaches of WHS laws, however […]
There have been some interesting global developments that are changing the landscape for D&O insurers. In this first edition of our International D&O Update, we have joined with our Legalign Global alliance partners to bring a summary of landmark cases and regulatory developments that will impact insurers both here in Australia and across the globe. […]
The Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Awards seeks to set a new benchmark for recognising female legal professionals with passion for the law as well as dedication to personal advancement. Last week, the 2018 short list was announced across all categories and we are delighted to advise Heidi Nash-Smith has been nominated as a finalist […]
First time the Court has imposed a penalty on an Australian Financial Services Licensee (Licensee) for breaches of the best interests duty On 30 March 2017, Justice Moshinsky of the Federal Court of Australia (Court) delivered judgment, declaring multiple breaches of s961K(2) and s961L of Corporations Act 2001 (Act) by Licensee, NSG Services Pty Ltd […]
As published in the New Zealand’s Law Talk magazine on 7 October 2017. The Leggs burnt green waste from their landscaping business and lifestyle block on their Canterbury property. While the fire initially reduced to ash, sufficient combustible material remained that it reignited some weeks later in a strong wind. The root cause was embers […]
J v Accident Compensation Corporation [2017] NZCA 441 What Happened New Zealand’s Court of Appeal has recently handed down a decision that may signal a partial retreat of the statutory bar to proceedings arising from medical misadventure. In a case involving a failed sterilisation, remarks made by the Court appear to leave open the possibility […]
The elephant in the room in all shareholder class actions was whether shareholders had to establish their own reliance on the contravening conduct, or could merely rely on that conduct’s effect on the market, akin to the US concept of “fraud on the market”. The NSW Supreme Court has taken a step closer towards Australia […]
