A Guarantor is a person who gives a promise to repay the debt of a borrower.  By agreeing to pay a debt the Guarantor has made a guarantee to the institution or person lending the funds (“lender”). Frequently when someone gives a guarantee they are also giving an indemnity. An indemnity is a contractual promise to accept liability for any loss by the lender that is accumulated in the process of the recovery of a debt. 

Competition law promotes or seeks to maintain competition in marketplaces. It does this by restricting anti-competitive trade practices, mergers and business acquisitions, and economic regulation.

In 2016, the New Zealand (“NZ”) Police investigated 118,910 incidents of family violence, that equates to approximately one DV incident every five minutes. The most recent parliamentary debate on the issue has resulted in The Domestic Violence – Victims’ Protection Bill (“Bill”), originally proposed by the Green Party, which had its first reading in March 2017. This Bill aims to offer greater protection to victims of DV (“Victim/s”) in an employment context.

Section 15 of the Companies Act 1993 (“Act”) states that a company has a legal personality in its own right and is separate from its shareholders. This is a principle known as the Salomon principle, originating from the case of Salomon v A Salomon & Co Ltd.  The Salomon principle provides that a company is essentially regarded as a legal person separate from its directors, shareholders, employees and agents. This means as a separate legal entity, a company can be sued in its own name and own assets separately from its shareholders.

More businesses endeavour to have more ‘paper-less’ environments with the view to creating more efficient, not to mention tidier, storage systems. ‘Cloud storage’ or ‘cloud computing’ have been developed as a model for enabling convenient network access to a shared pool of resources, including networks, storage and applications, that can be accessed with minimal service provider contact.

As part of the due diligence process purchasers will generally want to look at the LIM report, obtain a Builders report, and review all aspects of title and Body Corporate records - if the property is a unit title. In addition, we now recommend that purchasers also obtain Drainage and Toxicology reports.

Based on the 2011 Australian Model Work Health and Safety Act, New Zealand’s Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) passed into law on 4 April 2016. New Zealand’s historically high rate of workplace deaths and near misses (notably the 2010 Pike River Mine tragedy where 29 miners died due to substantial health and safety failures) was a key motivator for the overhaul of our health and safety laws.

A trust is an arrangement in which a person (Settlor) transfers assets to selected persons (Trustees) to be held for the benefit of persons named by the Settlor (Beneficiaries).

Amendments to the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988 introduced plain language forms of Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA) and standard explanation documents outlining the effects of appointing an attorney. These changes came into effect on 16 March 2017.

The reputation of your business may be its most valuable asset, so it makes sense that you also know how to protect it. In New Zealand you can call your business anything you like which is known as a Trading Name. Trading names are not registered, meaning it is quite possible that other businesses can use the same name, which may cost you customers. So, what can you do to prevent another business from using your trading name?

The Fencing Act 1978 prescribes the steps that a person must take before building a fence on or near the boundary with a neighbour. It is a three step process...

Many kiwis will, during their lifetimes buy and sell property. Property transactions are not simple; nor should they be. The importance and value of a property transaction alone necessitates a degree of complexity and care.

However, the transaction and how it is completed is not well understood by the general public...