New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Professional fees

Legal area

Court

12 Sept 2018

GINIVAN v SOUTHERN RESPONSE EARTHQUAKE SERVICES LTD [2018] NZHC 2403

Citation

[2018] NZHC 2403
Court

High Court

The insurer must pay only objectively 'reasonable' professional fees for experts engaged by the insured and those fees must be approved in advance; trustees may choose competent experts but Southern Response may assess and approve, request further information, or decline and pay what it considers reasonable; the Court will not order unconditional approval of specific expert fees absent independent evidence (eg quantity surveying) and instead directed an interim procedural regime (10 working day responses, options to request clarification, pay approved fees or pay the insurer's assessed reason…
22 Jul 2015

SOUTHERN RESPONSE EARTHQUAKE SERVICES LIMITED v AVONSIDE HOLDINGS LIMITED [2015] NZSC 110

Citation

[2015] NZSC 110
Court

Supreme Court

The Court held that the correct approach is to estimate the actual cost of rebuilding on the site and that such an estimate properly includes reasonable contingency allowances and professional fees assessed by orthodox quantity surveying practice; a notional rebuild does not eliminate the existence of risks or justify excluding contingencies or realistic professional fees, so the Court of Appeal's approach was correct and the appeal was dismissed.
4 May 2015

SOUTHERN RESPONSE EARTHQUAKE SERVICES LIMITED v AVONSIDE HOLDINGS LIMITED [2015] NZSC 49

Citation

[2015] NZSC 49
Court

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court granted leave to appeal to decide whether the Court of Appeal was correct to hold that, under the parties' insurance policy, the respondent remained entitled to claim allowances for contingencies and professional fees despite having elected to purchase a replacement property.
1 Oct 2014

AVONSIDE HOLDINGS LIMITED V SOUTHERN RESPONSE EARTHQUAKE SERVICES LIMITED CA520/2013 [2014] NZCA 483

Citation

[2014] NZCA 483
Court

Court of Appeal

The Court held that the notional rebuild cost for the 'buy another house' option must reflect the costs that would be incurred if the property were actually rebuilt on the same site, including reasonable contingency allowances and professional fees; however, external works that can be repaired to an 'as new' condition may be valued at repair cost when calculating the insurer's cap, and the High Court decision on external works was confirmed.
11 Jul 2013

AVONSIDE HOLDINGS LTD v SOUTHERN RESPONSE EARTHQUAKE SERVICES LTD [2013] NZHC 1433

Citation

[2013] NZHC 1433
Court

High Court

For the purpose of assessing the notional cost of rebuilding under the policy the court adopts a 10% builder's margin applied to the assessed cost including preliminary and general items, disallows any contingency allowance, allows professional fees of $29,000 as the appropriate necessary-fees allowance, excludes demolition and debris removal from the notional rebuild cost (they are additional cover), and allows $79,421.50 for external works by applying repair-or-replace pragmatism rather than full replacement in all cases.
16 May 2013

MCLEAN, MCKEOWN AND BUTLER V IAG NEW ZEALAND LIMITED HC CHCH CIV 2012-409-002284

Citation

openlaw-c478837b_85f4_4dbc_b0bb_0f7131f87863.pdf
Court

High Court

The court held that 'present value', defined in the policy as 'the reasonable cost to repair or replace, less an allowance for depreciation', must be understood to include reasonable professional and compliance costs that would be necessary to replace the home; the policy wording, including express coverage of professional fees when rebuilding and the clause capping liability 'inclusive of fees and other costs', supports reading those fees into the assessment of present value, and the indemnity principle does not prevent contracting parties from so defining loss.

New Zealand Case Law

GINIVAN v SOUTHERN RESPONSE EARTHQUAKE SERVICES LTD [2018] NZHC 2403

SOUTHERN RESPONSE EARTHQUAKE SERVICES LIMITED v AVONSIDE HOLDINGS LIMITED [2015] NZSC 110

SOUTHERN RESPONSE EARTHQUAKE SERVICES LIMITED v AVONSIDE HOLDINGS LIMITED [2015] NZSC 49

AVONSIDE HOLDINGS LIMITED V SOUTHERN RESPONSE EARTHQUAKE SERVICES LIMITED CA520/2013 [2014] NZCA 483

AVONSIDE HOLDINGS LTD v SOUTHERN RESPONSE EARTHQUAKE SERVICES LTD [2013] NZHC 1433

MCLEAN, MCKEOWN AND BUTLER V IAG NEW ZEALAND LIMITED HC CHCH CIV 2012-409-002284