“If you’ve got nothing nice to say, say nothing at all” may be an old adage, but it still has force in the social media age. Seemingly ancient legal concepts can bite in unexpected ways for those freely expressing their opinions online. Some may be familiar, such as defamation and harassment. Others, like malicious falsehood, …
Don’t hit ‘Send’ on a lawsuit – some hidden pitfalls of being online Read More »
The Property Law Act 2007 (Act) provides a “code” governing the cancellation of a lease by the lessor (Landlord) for breach of covenant or condition by the lessee (Tenant). The “code” is contained in sections 244 to 264 of the Act (Cancellation Code). The codification of the lease cancellation provisions of the Act means that, …
Like all technological changes, the recent explosion in the use of Chat GPT and similar AI models creates new legal and regulatory issues. New Zealand is yet to adopt a specific legal regime to govern the use and control of AIs like Chat GPT, but existing laws will continue to apply. In this article, we …
Artificial Intelligence – new opportunities, familiar challenges Read More »
Organisations and businesses are obtaining and retaining more and more personal information from customers, employees and third parties. Requests for access and disclosure of personal information are also becoming more common. If you receive a request for access to personal information held in your systems, either by a third party, or by the person themselves, …
Privacy requests – how to respond to a request for personal information? Read More »
New Zealand’s growing living costs, rising interest rates and declining business confidence means business are likely to experience an increase in their debtors in the coming months. Given the choice between paying a mortgage or rent and paying an outstanding invoice for services/goods already received, those struggling financially will likely chose to keep a ‘roof …
The apartment building is suffering from building defects, what should be done? Defects (whether workmanship, or materials) commonly lead to weathertightness issues and further deterioration of the building and materials. Depending on when the building was constructed, or previous remedial work carried out, there may also be various warranty periods that are important. Where an …
Building and weathertightness defects – information for Body Corporates and owners Read More »
Over eighty 80 per cent of New Zealanders were born during Elizabeth II’s reign. It has been 70 years since the last death of a reigning monarch. Even with the last change in monarch, out of living memory for most, New Zealand’s uncodified constitution sets out clear rules and precedents to govern today’s events. The …
Continuity and change – what the Queen’s death means for New Zealand Read More »
Neighbours are commonly grappling with issues about their fences: one neighbour may want to upgrade a boundary fence and the other refuses to pay their fair share, you may find out that your boundary fence is not on the true boundary of your property, or your neighbour may have built a fence which obstructs your …
In New Zealand, drink driving is known as driving with excess breath/blood alcohol, or an EBA offence. The penalties that apply to EBA offences vary depending on the age of the offender, the level of breath/blood alcohol detected, and whether there has been previous offending of the same or a similar kind. Adults The legal …
The Court of Appeal recently released a judgment concerning the scope of a restraint of trade clause, following the sale of a business. The business bought by the purchaser involved the manufacture, distribution and installation of partitioning systems and door systems, commonly used in office fit-outs. Shortly after the sale, the vendors bought another business …
