By: Jonathan Maher and Aisha Lala In this short update we note that NSW authorities are reporting what are believed to be the first fatalities related to lithium-ion battery fires. If confirmed, this tragedy underscores the growing concerns around the risk posed by lithium-ion batteries, and the potential insurance implications. The incident On 29 February […]
By: Misha Henaghan, Joseph Lill and Elliot Copeland At a glance At the end of 2023, a High Court appeal by the Commerce Commission resulted in a Fair Trading Act 1986 (FTA) fine for supplying unsafe goods more than doubling from $87,750 to $195,000. The financial strength of NZME Advisory Limited (NZME) was given weight […]
By: Misha Henaghan, Anna McElhinney and Phoebe Nikolaou At a glance The possible pool of targets for recovery has increased with the New Zealand Court of Appeal recently holding that New Zealand’s Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (CGA) applies to overseas manufacturers of goods supplied to consumers in New Zealand and the Fair Trading Act (FTA)1 […]
By: Jonathan Maher and Aisha Lala At a glance The federal government has just issued a national safety warning notice about the risk of fire from certain LG home energy storage system batteries, which are large Lithium-ion cells. The latest warning notice adds to the 23 recalls between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2022 […]
By: Cassandra Wills On 13 December 2023, Australia became the first country to nationally ban engineered stone, following a unanimous decision by Commonwealth, state and territory workplace ministers. The ban aims to protect the lives and safety of Australians working with the product, and is a critical development given the high numbers of stone benchtop […]
We are pleased to share our latest edition of NZ Insurance Market Trends Update. Our annual report explores legal and claims trends, legislative and regulatory developments and significant recent decisions that impact insurers, underwriters, brokers and corporates operating in the New Zealand insurance market. Our report includes more than 30 articles that look at trends, […]
Tell us about your journey to becoming a partner at W+K I came over from DLA Piper New Zealand in Feb 2022 alongside Peter Leman, Caroline Laband, Misha Heneghan and the team. It was so exciting and refreshing coming to W+K together and feeling so welcome by everyone here (and reuniting with so many old colleagues […]
Welcome to Wotton + Kearney’s Product Liability Update, a snapshot of the key trends, areas of regulatory focus, and emerging risks in product liability insurance in Australia and New Zealand. In this issue, we look at the ACCC’s focus on safety issues affecting young children, recent case highlights from Australia and New Zealand, and the […]
At the National Consumer Congress held in June 2022, the Chair of the ACCC, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, launched the ACCC’s Product Safety Priorities for 2022-23 under the theme “Protecting Tomorrow’s Consumers Today”. In this update, Scott Macoun and Trent O’Neill from W+K’s specialist Product Liability & Recall team look at the new product safety priorities, as […]
At the heart of a typical product liability policy is the embedded concept that the policy responds to injury to tangible property and its consequences. However, recent UK claims have tested whether product liability indemnity extends to damages for loss of profit arising from the loss of contracts. In this update, W+K product liability specialist […]
