Today New Zealand’s new privacy regime comes into effect. Arguably the most important change created by the Act is that it is now mandatory for businesses to report privacy breaches in situations likely to cause serious harm. Assessing whether a business has a reasonable belief that a breach has caused serious harm can be a […]
On 17 November 2020, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Southern Response Earthquake Services Limited v Ross [2020] NZSC 126. The decision confirms opt-out orders should be made available in representative actions where appropriate. Southern Response highlights that a plaintiff’s proposal should be adopted, including whether to make it opt-out or opt-in, unless […]
On 18 November 2020, the Court of Appeal handed down its decision in Dickson v Northern Lakes Rugby League Sport & Recreation Club Inc [2020] NSWCA 294. Wotton + Kearney acted for the Northern Lakes Rugby League Sport & Recreation Club Inc and Brendan Fletcher in their successful defence of the appeal proceedings. The decision […]
The NSW Government has introduced sweeping legislative changes that are intended to regain public confidence in the building and construction industry. The new legislation, in particular the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020, will have a significant effect on establishing the liability of design and building practitioners within the construction industry and how they are […]
On 23 October 2020, the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in Coffs Harbour City Council v Polglase [2020] NSWCA 265. Wotton + Kearney acted for the State of NSW in its successful defence of the appeal proceedings. The case confirms, for the purpose of a duty of care on a statutory authority, what […]
In an otherwise no costs jurisdiction, the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission recently ordered costs against former Ipswich City Councillors who were seeking reinstatement and remuneration. Wotton + Kearney acted for the Ipswich City Council in successfully defending the proceedings and obtaining the costs orders. In this article, Raisa Conchin and Manja Lalovic explain why this […]
There have been three recent cases involving abuse matters that provide further guidance on how the courts are addressing some key liability, damages and limitation issues. These issues include: the need for specific evidence about the level of impact of limitation periods in considering applications to set aside settlements in institutional abuse matters the importance […]
The Supreme Court of Queensland has dismissed an application for disclosure of information about prior incidents. The Court found that claimants have a broad entitlement to request information from respondents about the reasons for an ‘incident’, however, that entitlement is limited to the actual incident, not related incidents. In this article, Paul Spezza and Emma […]
Taylor v Asteron Life Limited [2020] NZCA 354: On 19 August 2020, the Court of Appeal upheld insurers’ rights to cancel policies and seek damages when there are fraudulent claims. This decision was also significant as it was the first time the Court of Appeal has applied the common law fraudulent claims rule. In this […]
Carter v Hastings River Greyhound Racing Club [2020] NSWCA 185: On 21 August 2020, the NSW Court of Appeal again confirmed ‘recreational activities’ do not need to be ‘recreational’ in the ordinary meaning of the term with its decision in Carter. The Court’s decision also reinforced the position that being a volunteer does not affect […]
