High Court, Duffy J, 30 July 2010
69 Doves Bay Road, Kerikeri
This was a claim by homeowners against the council for a leaky building. The property was purchased as a holiday home, eventually intended for retirement. However, the property suffered from defects to the extent that it was uninhabitable. The owners had not undertaken invasive testing of the building.
In the circumstances, the Court was not prepared to award the cost to fix the house and instead ordered the council to pay the homeowners a sum for the reduction in value of the property. In deciding this, the High Court examined several cases, including Ruxley Electronics which determined that where the expenditure involved in placing a party in the same position as if the contract had been performed is out of proportion to the benefit to be obtained, some other measure of damages will be used.
Comments
This means that in some cases (especially when there are high value properties involved) Courts may award the reduction in value of the property rather than the cost of repair (when the reduction of value in the property is lower).
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Scandle v Far North District Council
High Court, Duffy J, 30 July 2010
69 Doves Bay Road, Kerikeri
This was a claim by homeowners against the council for a leaky building. The property was purchased as a holiday home, eventually intended for retirement. However, the property suffered from defects to the extent that it was uninhabitable. The owners had not undertaken invasive testing of the building.
In the circumstances, the Court was not prepared to award the cost to fix the house and instead ordered the council to pay the homeowners a sum for the reduction in value of the property. In deciding this, the High Court examined several cases, including Ruxley Electronics which determined that where the expenditure involved in placing a party in the same position as if the contract had been performed is out of proportion to the benefit to be obtained, some other measure of damages will be used.
Comments
This means that in some cases (especially when there are high value properties involved) Courts may award the reduction in value of the property rather than the cost of repair (when the reduction of value in the property is lower).
Download to read full decision