Employment Court of New Zealand Te Kōti Take Mahi o Aotearoa

Jurisdiction / Disputes Tribunal Act 1988 (DTA) / Applicant claimed Respondent agreed to operate bank account to receive rental income from property in which Applicant had a life interest under a Deed of Family Arrangement (DOFA) / Applicant alleged Respondent failed to account for rental income and make funds available to him / Applicant claimed $30,000 in rental income and legal costs / Respondent counterclaimed $30,000 / Respondent claimed DOFA was unenforceable / Applicant’s life interest did not extend to property, funds were used for property maintenance and Applicant carried out unconsented works that affected ownership of Respondent  / Held: Tribunal lacked jurisdiction to hear claim and counterclaim / DTA prevents Tribunal from determining disputes on entitlements under a will, settlement, or interest in land / Claim struck out /  Counterclaim struck out.

Negligence / Respondent drove vehicle into garage of Applicant’s rental property / Damage to garage was extensive and took 18 weeks to repair / Applicant reduced weekly rent by $50 during repair period / Insurers for both parties covered repair costs but not rent-reduction loss / Applicant claimed $900 / Held: Respondent not liable for rent-related loss / While Respondent caused the damage, consequential loss of rent reduction was too remote / Not reasonably foreseeable that driving into garage would lead to rent reduction / Main dwelling was not been affected / Rent reduction was voluntary decision by Applicant / Claim dismissed.

Objections to valuations by Council – Land Valuation Proceedings Act 1948, s 19(8) – Objections withdrawn by leave of Tribunal and both parties' consent – No costs order.

Negligence / Head-on collision occurred between Applicant’s car and Respondent’s tractor as they turned a blind corner / Applicant claimed collision was inevitable as Respondent had not taken all necessary steps to ensure safety of other road users while driving his tractor / Applicant said Respondent had negligently positioned tractor forks / Applicant's vehicle was damaged beyond repair in the collision, determined to have pre-accident value of $1,500 / Held: collision caused because neither party was traveling at a speed that allowed them to stop in half the roadway that was visible to them / Not accepted that Respondent had a higher duty of care to avoid an accident when driving a tractor / Applicant and Respondent both contributed equally to the collision / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $750, half the damage costs / Claim allowed in part. 

Costs on appeal - Accident Compensation Act 2001. Claim for costs and disbursements assessed. Appropriate award was category 2B costs of $15,041.25 and disbursements of $17,583.34. Outcome: costs awarded.  

Professional responsibilities and professional practice / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s442 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl2e, cl17a, cl17b, cl17c, cl19f, cl19g, cl19h / failure to lodge complainant’s work visa application / failure to provide complainant summary of licensed adviser’s professional responsibilities, nor explain them / failed to advise of internal complaints procedure or provide explanation / acknowledgements in services agreement not separately signed or initialled / adviser’s engagement with spouse can be sufficient compliance / failure to specify fees and disbursements in agreement / lack of professional manner in communications with the complainant and spouse / adviser admits he was negligent or lacked due care, citing travel and health issues / no evidence of dishonesty / communications nonetheless unprofessional / breaches of alternative negligence heads dismissed / complaint partially upheld / sanctions to follow

Recoverability of costs and expenses - s148(2) of the Accident Compensation Corporation Act 2001. Whether the Digital System fee, Technical Specialist fee, and KonnectNet fee are recoverable as expenses. Digital System fee not recoverable as it is a business overhead. Technical Specialist fee not recoverable as they are representation costs. KonnectNet fee may be recoverable, depending on the circumstances. If the fee has been reasonably or necessarily incurred it can be claimed as an expense. Outcome: appeal dismissed, leave to appeal granted.

[2025] NZEmpC 192 Cunningham v healthAlliance NZ Limited (Costs Judgment of Judge M S King, 29 August 2025) COSTS – GUIDELINE SCALE – self-represented litigant – costs awarded

Professional responsibilities and professional practice / misleading behaviour / follow instructions / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s 442 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl 1, cl2e, cl17a, cl17b, cl17c, cl19e, cl19h, cl19i, cl19k, cl19l, cl19m, cl19n, cl22, cl26aiii, cl26aiv, cl26b, cl26c, cl26d / misled client about seeking reconsideration of declined application / failed to pass on to client, or respond to, requests for information from INZ / failed to provide draft residence application for review / also did not provide decline letter in timely manner or retain all INZ communications on file / failed to follow instruction to remove partner from application / failed to provide or explain professional standards and complaints documents / written services agreement lacked many Code requirements / did not confirm material discussions in writing / did not provide invoice for fees, disbursements / did not maintain well-managed file / complaint partially upheld / sanctions to follow

Compensation / Vehicle collision / Applicants’ van and motorbike damaged in collision when Respondent failed to give way / Respondent acknowledged fault / Applicants did not have insurance / Respondent disputed quantum of remedy to be awarded to Applicants / Applicants claimed $7500 in compensation / Held: collision was the cause of the damage to the Applicant's motorbike /  Applicants were entitled to $6,501 being the costs claimed that were supported by receipt or valuation less $500 for the wrecked value of the van already received by Applicants / Claim allowed in part.

Objections to valuations by Council – Rating Valuations Act 1998, s 36 – Valuation agreed by consent – No costs order.

[2025] NZEmpC 186 Menzies v Corrigan (Costs judgment (No 2) of Judge Beck, 22 August 2025) APPLICATION FOR COSTS AGAINST NON-PARTY REPRESENTATIVE– APPLICATION FOR JOINDER –application to join plaintiff’s representative as party to proceedings for the purposes of costs – application for non-party discovery against defendant’s former lawyer was an extraordinary feature of the litigation – compensation for costs for non-party discovery conventional – advocates conduct directly contributed to costs incurred – costs awarded - CONDUCT OF REPRESENTATIVES – the conduct of representatives not beyond scrutiny of the Court– representatives may be personally liable for costs.

Consumer law /  Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicants hired a portable cabin from Respondent / Applicants alleged cabin not of acceptable quality / Cabin was not clean, had faulty heat pump and lacked adequate insulation / Respondent failed to resolve issue or allow early termination without penalty / Applicants claimed $3,053.15 (50% refund of hire charges and bond) and declaration of non-liability for last invoice / Held: cabin not of acceptable quality / Cabin was not clean, heat pump was faulty and insulation was inadequate for purposes advertised / Removal of cabin not done with reasonable skill and care / Respondent to pay Applicants $3,053.15 / Applicants not liable to pay remaining invoice / Claim allowed.