Legal Publications - Duncan Cotterill

Publications

We produce a range of articles, legal publications and resources on a wide range of legal subjects and hot topics critical to our clients needs. These include briefings on key legal issues, newsletters on practice areas and industry developments via the below headings.

Court of Appeal has its say on sentencing under the Fair Trading Act

The Court of Appeal has, for the first time, considered an appeal of a sentencing under the Fair Trading Act 1986 ( FTA ) in Commerce Commission v Steel & Tube Holdings Ltd [2020] NZCA 549. The original charges related to false and misleading statements about Steel & Tube’s steel mesh More »

A lesson for the class … but where is the principal?

Class action process considered by the Supreme Court as legislation remains out-of-sight The Supreme Court has used the appeal in Southern Response Earthquake Services Limited v Ross [2020] NZSC 126 to fill the void of legislation dealing with representative claims (commonly known as class actions More »

Client update – Government market study into competition of supermarkets

This morning the Government announced that the Commerce Commission ( Commission ) will be conducting a market study into the state of competition in relation to New Zealand’s supermarkets. The Government describes the aim of the study is to ensure that consumers are paying fair prices for More »

The countdown is on. Are you ready?

On 1 December 2020 the Privacy Act 2020 (the Act ) comes into force. For the first time in New Zealand, businesses and organisations who are found to be non-compliant with their obligations around collecting, storing, using and disclosing personal information risk committing an offence and a fine More »

The cannabis referendum: implications for workplace drug testing and policies

The outcome of the upcoming referendum on whether recreational cannabis use should be legalised will be interesting. This is a non-binding referendum, but the government has indicated that it will honour the results if re-elected. What does a yes vote mean for the workplace and how should employers More »

Video: Employment law - managing poor performance

Staff who are not performing within your organisation have a detrimental effect on the business, impacting on productivity and staff morale while taking up a significant amount of management time and effort. On the other hand, managing performance issues effectively and exiting underperforming More »

Privacy Act 2020 - Reporting tool and serious harm

As part of the build up to the Privacy Act 2020 coming in to force on 1 December, the Privacy Commissioner has launched an online tool to help assess whether a privacy breach is notifiable. One of the key elements of the Privacy Act 2020 is the need for organisations to notify the Commissioner and More »

Does COVID-19 change the way you restructure your business?

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on many businesses, some of which must now contemplate cost cutting measures in order to keep their business afloat. So, what do employers need to think about if they propose a restructure? Has COVID-19 changed the rules? The short answer is no. COVID-19 in itself is not More »

Health and safety update: doing business at Alert Levels 1 and 2

This article is an update on our March article dealing with the COVID-19 related requirements for businesses. A lot has changed in that time, but some of the basics remain. In this update we deal with the current COVID-19 requirements for businesses, those for employees, and the specific More »

Pathway to recovery from COVID-19: immigration policy updates

Offshore resident visa holders Changes have been made to enable New Zealand residents who are currently stuck offshore to maintain their residency while border restrictions remain. This means New Zealand residents who need to travel to New Zealand to activate their visa or those with visas whose More »

Supreme Court releases decision on breach of directors’ duties

The Supreme Court has issued a new decision, Madsen-Ries and Levin as Liquidators of Debut Homes Limited (in liquidation) v Cooper [2020] NZSC 100, reviewing the law relating to breaches of directors’ duties. The decision sets out important guidance for company directors and their advisors More »

Upcoming election: Major and minor parties employment policies

With the upcoming election, the vast majority of the focus has been upon the policies being put by the two major parties and how they stack up against each other. However, New Zealand is a Mixed Member Proportionate system and so whether the New Zealand National Party (National) or New Zealand More »

Business interruption insurance and COVID-19

In the United Kingdom, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) brought a test case on behalf of insurance policy holders against a group of six insurers to obtain clarity as to the operation of business interruption insurance for claims arising out of the COVID-19 lockdown. The circumstances of the More »

Government measures in key jurisdictions: 4th edition

Duncan Cotterill is a member of TerraLex, one of the largest legal networks in the world, providing access to more than 19,000 legal professionals world-wide. Our role in this global network means we can provide our international clients with easy access to specialised local expertise in almost any More »

In a $2m+ judgment Court clarifies payment schedule requirements under the Construction Contracts Act 2002

The recent High Court ruling in The Fletcher Construction Company Limited v Spotless Facility Services (NZ) Limited [2020] NZHC 1942 has clarified the requirements for valid payment schedules under the Construction Contracts Act 2002 (the Act) . A payment schedule is the mechanism by which a More »

Timely relief - visitor visa extensions

The Government has announced that certain individuals who currently hold a visitor visa which is due to expire between 4 September 2020 and 31 October 2020 (and are in New Zealand), will shortly be receiving a 5-month extension to their visas. Earlier in April, the Government extended temporary More »

Changes to the Business Finance Guarantee Scheme

It has been six months since New Zealand entered Alert Level 4 lockdown and New Zealand businesses continue to grapple with the stress and financial uncertainty wrought by COVID-19. The recent resurgence of COVID-19 in New Zealand and changes to COVID Alert Levels has compounded the uncertainty More »

Paying employees during a lockdown: Raggett v Eastern Bays Hospice Trust t/a Dove Hospice [2020] NZERA 266

A big question most employers have had to grapple with during the COVID-19 lockdowns has been whether employees were ‘ready, willing and able’ to work and what this means for their pay entitlements? Since the original lockdown, we have seen a number of cases which deal with this More »

Video: NZ Hi-Tech Awards 2020 sponsor video

Click here to view our NZ Hi-Tech Awards 2020 sponsor video presented by Wellington technology partner Scott Moran . Our specialist technology team advises a range of private and public sector organisations who purchase IT services and manage IT projects which are large scale and complex. We also More »

COVID-19 Resurgence Wage Subsidy (RWS)

The COVID-19 Resurgence Wage Subsidy (RWS) is a new Wage Subsidy category for businesses who are financially impacted by the resurgence of COVID-19 and changes to COVID Alert Levels. Applications for the RWS are open from 1pm on 21 August until 3 September 2020. The RWS is available nationally and More »

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