The High Court in Sleight v Beckia Holdings Ltd (in liq) & ors [2020] NZHC 2851 has found all defendants liable for $389,848 being the costs to repair an earthquake damaged house at 24 Kinnaird Place, Christchurch to the policy standard of “when new”. IAG insured the earthquake damaged house. IAG purported to repair the house as part of its managed repair programme with Hawkins as the project manager. Hawkins, now in liquidation, was insured by QBE. Farrells, now known as Beckia, was the builder that did the repairs. The house was defectively repaired. The build contract for the repairs was between Sleight and Farrells, but it referred to IAG and Hawkins performing roles. The Court decided that the defendants were liable because the work done did not meet the policy standard and/or the standard required by the Consumer Guarantees Act. The Court did not award any general damages. Based on the written agreements between IAG and Hawkins, Iag was required to indemnify QBE for $260K of the judgment. This is an excellent result for homeowners. Likely to be appeals.
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