A new law has come in affecting how creditors can take enforcement steps against borrowers and guarantors of farm debts. The Farm Debt Mediations Act 2019 (FDMA) came into force in 2020, which prevents secured creditors from taking enforcement action in relation to farm debts without taking certain steps. What is a farm debt? A …
Mandatory Farm Debt Mediations – what you need to know Read More »
Trustees and beneficiaries of trusts should be aware of a recent court decision, which clarifies two factors that trustees can take into account when deciding whether to distribute trust assets. In December 2021, the Court of Appeal’s decision in Kain v Public Trust [2021] NZCA 685 has given trustees some guidance on whether two types …
Update on trust law – can a trustee consider settlor wishes or other trust benefits? Read More »
The Government is reviewing Aotearoa/New Zealand’s conservation laws and has released a roadmap setting out its work programme. The existing legal framework includes 24 (generally outdated) statutes, including the Wildlife Act, Reserves Act, Marine Mammals Protection Act, Marine Reserves Act, and Conservation Act. The reforms will be comprehensive and will involve reviewing the whole conservation …
While the management of New Zealand’s water has previously been the domain of 67 local councils, full-scale water reform by the Government is proposed to consolidate this into just four powerful entities. Central Government considers this is necessary to ensure all Kiwis have access to safe, reliable and affordable water – local authorities are not …
Three Waters – Big Changes Proposed for Water Management in NZ Read More »
This article was published in the New Zealand Law Journal, where our family team comments on a recent Court of Appeal case where ongoing maintenance was awarded to a de facto partner for an extended period of time, and explains why the current maintenance system needs an overhaul. In March 2020, the High Court heard …
Rainey v Kwok – why maintenance needs an overhaul Read More »
Every Purchaser, subject to the rights of any tenant, may enter the property on one occasion prior to the settlement date to examine the property, chattels and fixtures that are included in the sale. This is usually done in the day or two before settlement, as by then the Vendor should have started to pack …
The recent Supreme Court decision in Tourism Holdings Ltd v A Labour Inspector of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment [2021] NZSC 157 (“Tourism Holdings”) held that commissions can form part of an employee’s ordinary weekly pay for the purposes of calculating holiday pay if they are made substantively regularly and temporally regularly. Holidays …
Supreme Court decision on commission payments and holiday pay Read More »
In a recent decision, the Court of Appeal confirmed that payments under discretionary incentive bonus schemes do not fall within the definition of gross earnings under the Holidays Act 2003 (“the Act”). Holidays Act 2003 When calculating payment for holidays under the Act, employers must take into account “gross earnings” as defined in section 14(a) …
Holiday pay decision on discretionary incentive bonus schemes overturned Read More »
Purchasing a kiwifruit orchard comes with lots to think about and plenty of due diligence to undertake. Often the purchase will be conditional on these further investigations, so what is important to consider? For most orchardists, water and compliance are key considerations. Often water is sourced from a bore, either on the land itself or …
So, after successfully entering into an Agreement for Sale and Purchase for the property of your dreams and having completed your due diligence, you rightfully decide to enjoy a celebratory tipple of having reached unconditional status. The phone then rings, it’s the Real Estate agent advising you of the catastrophically bad news the property has …
