More problems are emerging with houses purportedly fixed by Uretek insertion beneath the concrete slab in Christchurch.  We issued new Court proceedings recently for one house against Uretek, Southern Response, Christchurch City Council and the builder/engineer involved.  More to come.

In the judgment of Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery v Ace Developments Ltd & anor [2015] NZHC 1027 the High Court (Osborne AJ) has ordered that the defendants vacate a property at 115-117 Moorhouse Avenue that was subject to notice of acquisition by CERA in July/August 2014.  The defendants were the owner and lessee of the property.  The defendants unsuccessfully opposed the vacation order on the basis that there was no offer/agreement about compensation.

The Court of Appeal has today dismissed the appeal(s) by EQC against High Court decisions awarding homeowners costs and disbursements where EQC paid cap after being sued.  Here is the judgment.  This is an excellent result for homeowners and should encourage more people to sue EQC.  The High Court had awarded each homeowner 50% of the 2B costs and disbursements on the basis that an insurer was still a party.  The Court of Appeal refused to increase this to 100%.

Southern Response applied to the Supreme Court for leave to appeal the Court of Appeal decision including a 10% contingency and 10% professional fees as part of a rebuild costing.  By a brief judgment released 4 may 2015 the Supreme Court said:

A The application for leave to appeal is granted (Avonside Holdings Ltd v Southern Response Earthquake Services Ltd [2014] NZCA 483).
B The question on which leave is granted is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to find that the respondent was entitled under its insurance policy with the appellant to claim allowances for contingencies and for professional fees given that the respondent has elected to purchase a replacement property.

The appeal will now progress through the Supreme Court.  So do not expect a result this year.