Latest Articles
Wednesday, 25 January, 2012 | Property
George and Madeline, an elderly couple, who had owned their family home for many years were approached with a private offer to purchase the property by their new neighbours.
They had been thinking of down-sizing for a while, so signed the Agreement for Sale and Purchase that had been placed in front of them without any legal or other advice.
After they had signed the agreement they discovered… Continue reading
Friday, 20 January, 2012 | Wills & Estates
It is a very stressful time when a relative or close friend dies, but this can be made even worse if you find out you have been unexpectedly left out of a Will? There are four different ways you can apply to the Court for a share in an estate.
- Promises
If you have performed a service or have done work for the deceased, and they promised
Friday, 20 January, 2012 | Wills & Estates
When you make a Will you want to know that your property will go to the people you want it to. You can leave close family members out of your Will or recognise family members in unequal shares if there are good reasons for it but the will may be challenged as a breach of your duty to provide for those family members.
There are four main restrictions on… Continue reading
Monday, 16 January, 2012 | Business, Company
In several recent cases businesses that thought they were protected by a guarantee have missed out because the guarantee was not properly completed. When the debtor failed to pay, these businesses tried to go after the guarantor only to discover that the guarantor had not actually signed the guarantee.
It is common practice, especially if a company is entering into a contract, for an individual, possibly a director or… Continue reading
Monday, 16 January, 2012 | Employment
In a recent case before the Employment Relations Authority, an employee allegedly injured another employee to such an extent that he required hospitalisation.
The employer immediately suspended the employee on full pay and carried out an investigation in which it found that the employee had injured the other employee and that his actions constituted serious misconduct. He was dismissed.
The Authority agreed with the employer in so far… Continue reading
Thursday, 12 January, 2012 | Employment
An employee who was fired for excessive personal phone and email use has been reinstated on an interim basis, because the evidence suggests that other employees were not dealt with in the same way for similar use, and the process followed by the employer may not have been fair.
The employee had received a previous warning for excessive personal calls and emails some years previously that had expired*, plus… Continue reading
Thursday, 12 January, 2012 | Employment
A manager who used her staff discount card to buy items for family members, and who put discount items away so she could buy them herself, has lost her claim for unjustified dismissal.
Her employer had clear policies on the use of the staff discount card, and holding of items, which had been brought to the manager’s attention several times.
Her continued breaches of the policies meant that… Continue reading
Wednesday, 7 December, 2011 | Business
A contract is an agreement between two or more parties that is legally enforceable. For any agreement to be legally enforceable it must satisfy five key elements. Those elements are: offer, acceptance, consideration, intention, and certainty.
Getting these right can be the difference between getting paid for the work you do and not. In a recent case a terms of trade allowed for all of the expected terms, including… Continue reading
Friday, 2 December, 2011 | Employment
Courts are taking a tough and expensive approach when injuries occur. Employers have a duty to ensure their staff (and others) are safe in the workplace. A failure to prevent a fall in which an employee suffered a damaged knee and ankle has resulted in the employer being fined $15,000, and ordered to pay $12,000 reparation to the employee.
The company had failed to adequately identify, and then eliminate… Continue reading
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