Insights & Articles

Parties to construction contracts, especially those contractors (and subcontractors) who are engaged to carry out particular contract works by an agreed due date for completion, may be exposed to penalties or "liquidated damages" if unable to carry on or complete those works during the Covid-19 Alert Level 4 lockdown.

Mike Pero was the sole director of MPRE Limited and its wholly owned subsidiary MP Real Estate Limited (the MPRE Companies), companies described in the decision as a joint venture between a company ultimately owned by Mike Pero that held a 50% stake and MP Mortgages Limited which held the other 50% stake.

At a press release on 24 March 2020 at 1.00 pm a spokesperson for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) said: "If you are in doubt whether you are an essential service, you're probably not".

A recent Court of Appeal decision (Autumn Tree(1)) makes it clear that where a company enters a contract and only one director signs it:

Purchasers of commercial property should undertake an exhaustive review of each potential purchase before declaring an agreement unconditional. This review should be undertaken in consultation with your lawyer, accountant, property manager, building inspector, lender, and otherwise as appropriate.

From 1 July 2019, changes are being made to all Protection Orders, including those made before this date. The Family Violence Act 2018 repeals and replaces the Domestic Violence Act 1995 and modifies the Care of Children Act 2004 as part of ongoing efforts to tackle domestic violence issues in New Zealand with the aim of providing faster, more effective protection for protected persons and increasing accountability and compliance by respondents.

On 16 March 2017 changes to the Protection of Personal Property Rights Act 1988 come into effect. Some of these changes affect how Enduring Powers of Attorney ("EPOA") are made, and others affect how they operate. If you have any unsigned EPOAs drafted and they are not fully executed by this date, they will be invalid and will need re-drafting. EPOAs fully executed prior to 16 March 2017 remain valid. Please urgently contact us if you wish to finalise documents prior to 16 March 2017.

Intellectual Property is an asset that has the potential to be more valuable to your business than tangible business assets and should be protected as much as possible. A famous trade mark or a market leading patent may be of far greater value to a company than its physical assets.

Employers and employees alike have long been grappling with the Holidays Act 2003 ("Act") due to its complexity. Difficulties with compliance has resulted in employees receiving incorrect payments, being unaware of their statutory entitlements and employers owing significant amounts of historical underpayments. It is no surprise the Labour Government's announcement to review the Act was welcomed by many.

2020 has been a year of upheaval for employers. Now many employers are looking for different ways to employ staff where their requirements have changed.

Recently there have been a number of announcements by large employers overseas making the Covid-19 vaccine mandatory for customers and or employees. However, in New Zealand the Ministry of Health has confirmed that it will not be making the Covid-19 vaccination mandatory for New Zealanders. Given the current climate, employers in New Zealand are considering their options, including whether to make the vaccination mandatory in the workplace or even if they can encourage their employees to have the vaccine.

Introduction - This article highlights an important but little-noticed piece of New Zealand legislation hurriedly prepared and enacted in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Business Debt Hibernation scheme was created to help companies, partnerships, trusts, or incorporated societies established before 3 April 2020 to cope with and manage certain existing debts where those entities are unable to immediately pay those debts due to the impact of Covid-19, but where their prospects of payment in the future are much better.