Defective & Leaky Buildings Flashcards
(7 cards)
What did Anns establish for the scope of council liability in negligence?
Local authorities owe a duty to owners/occupiers who might suffer injury to health caused by defective foundations
Only material & physical damage recoverable (not just latent defect)
What did Murphy establish for the scope of council liability in negligence?
Departure from Anns: HC held it is not possible to draw a distinction between dangerous defects & defects of quality,
Held pure economic loss (eg repair costs for latent defects) not recoverable in negligence unless there is personal injury/damage.
Lord Keith critiqued Anns: if council owed duty so too would builders & manufacturers, which would “open up an exceedingly wide field of claims “
What did Hamlin establish about New Zealand’s approach to council liability?
[Cooke P] “A local authority’s control of building in its district has been held to carry a duty to take reasonable care in performing statutory functions.”
Distinguished UK precedent in Murphy; unlike UK (where Murphy abolished council duty on the basis of the Defective Premises Act 1972), NZ had no equivalent legislation; NZ Building Act 1991 envisages negligence claims against councils to continue.
What are the limitation periods pertaining to negligence claims for defective buildings?
Six-year limitation period starts from when the damage was discoverable (Building Act, s.393(1) & Limitations Act 2010 s. 11)
BUT
Ten-year long stop period, runs from the date the council issued Code Compliance Certificate, regardless of when damage was discovered (Building ACt 2004 s.393(2)).
What did Sunset Terraces establish for the scope of council liability?
Court broadened council duty to all residential buildings regardless of size & ownership (investor vs. owner-occupier) or configuration (single dwelling vs. apartment block).
Determined all owners, including investors, could sue for cost of remedial action needed to ensure health & safety of non-owner occupants (tenants not directly protected).
Each owner is owed an independent duty; courts rejected ‘accrual bar’ where subsequent purchasers can’t sue if prior owners had claim
What did Spencer on Byron establish for the scope of council liability?
Supreme Court extended duty of care to ALL building owners (including commercial buildings)
Rejected categorising buildings by use (e.g housing, commercial etc)
Statutory Framework; Building Act imposed uniform obligations on councils, no specified distinction between residential/commercial buildings
What does the principle of joint and several liability in NZ mean?
NZ’s policy of joint & several liability ensures plaintiffs are fully compensated even if some defendants are insolvent; risk of non-payment falls on other liable defendants rather than plaintiff → plaintiff can recover full amount of damages from any one defendant, regardless of shares of fault.
