202205.15
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Joint Venture Property Development Dispute

Simon acted for plaintiffs who had been induced into joint ventures with the defendants relating to development property investments in Pokeno. The court found that the defendants breached the Fair Trading Act and awarded damages to the plaintiffs – Luo v Shiu [2021] NZHC 3564 –

202205.15
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Order for Arrest of Will Administrator

The administrator of a will had been ordered by the Court to make a payment from the deceased estate to Simon’s client. The administrator refused to do so and deliberately ignored court orders. Simon obtained an order from the Court for the administrator to be arrested – Connolly v Eckhout [2022] NZHC 293-

202205.15
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Family Protection Claim

Simon acted for the adult daughter of a deceased who had not been left anything in her father’s will. She brought a claim under the Family Protection Act against his father’s third wife and widow who was the administrator of the estate. The Court made a substantial award to Simon’s client including indemnity costs –…

202205.15
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Professional Discipline

Simon represented a lawyer accused of misconduct in hearings before the Lawyers and Conveyancer’s Disciplinary Tribunal and the High Court. Simon’s client accepted responsibility for his conduct and sanctions were ordered that were substantially lower than those sought by the prosecutor. See Auckland Standards Committee 4 v Schlooz [2021] NZHC 2185 –

202205.15
0

Real Estate Agent’s Licence Restored

Simon’s client had applied to get his real estate salesperson’s licence back after it had been cancelled years before. When the Registrar of the Real Estate Authority refused, Simon assisted his client to appeal successfully to the Real Estate Agent’s Disciplinary Tribunal and then successfully opposed a further appeal by the Registrar to the High…

202205.15
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Privacy Law – Netsafe

Simon acted for the Director of Human Rights Proceedings claiming that Netsafe breached the Privacy Act by failing to provide personal information to 3 aggrieved individuals. The Human Rights Review Tribunal upheld the claim. This case provides important clarification of the relationship between the Privacy Act and the Harmful Digital Communications Act and the role…

202205.15
0

Absolute Privilege In Defamation

Simon is acting for a plaintiff bringing a defamation claim. The defendant argued that that absolute privilege applies and the claim should be struck out. The District Court judge struck out the claim but the High Court and Court of Appeal accepted the plaintiff’s argument that absolute privilege does not apply. These judgments are important…

202005.13
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Tribunal finds Cameron Slater breached Privacy Act

Simon acted for the Director Human Rights Proceedings in a successful claim that Cameron Slater breached the Privacy Act 1993 by uploading personal information onto his Whaleoil blog- Director of Human Rights Proceedings v Slater [2019] NZHRRT 13.

202005.13
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Right to claim discrimination in employment on grounds of pregnancy

In Diamond Laser Medispa Taupo Limited v Human Rights Review Tribunal [2019] NZHC 2809 – https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/pdf/jdo/b4/alfresco/service/api/node/content/workspace/SpacesStore/ac9d4651-cdc7-4faf-8089-0343f1d88ca5/ac9d4651-cdc7-4faf-8089-0343f1d88ca5.pdf, Simon was instructed by the Director Human Rights Proceedings to act for Zelinda Doria.  Ms Doria had brought a claim in the Human Rights Review Tribunal claiming that her employer had prevented her from working because she was pregnant.  The employer…

202005.13
0

Successful application for judicial review of Minister of Immigration

In Zhang v Minister of Immigration [2020] NZHC 568 – https://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/assets/cases/Zhang-v-Minister-of-Immigration.pdf,  Simon acted for the applicant who successfully applied for judicial review of the Associate Minister of Immigration’s refusal to grant her a residence visa.  The Court held that the Associate Minister had failed to have adequate regard to the mandatory relevant considerations of New Zealand’s international…