15 Aug 2014
HOTCHIN V THE NEW ZEALAND GUARDIAN TRUST COMPANY LIMITED CA494/2013 [2014] NZCA 400
- Citation
- [2014] 3 NZLR 685
- Court
- Court of Appeal
The Court held the appeal must fail because contribution under s 17(1)(c) (and equitable contribution) requires that the parties be liable in respect of the identical, indivisible damage grounded in a common/co‑ordinate obligation; the directors' duty to avoid misleading prospectus statements and the trustees' duty to monitor compliance with trust deeds were different in nature and extent, so the trustees could not be liable for the same damage as the director; accordingly the High Court's strike‑out of the appellant's third party claims was correct and the appeal is dismissed.