recognised leaders in the development of the law of negligence
Sarah graduated from the University of Auckland in 1997 and was admitted to the New Zealand bar that year.
She started working for the predecessor of the firm in 1996. In 2013 she became a partner.
Sarah is a specialist in insurance and local government liability. She regularly appears in the Weathertight Homes Tribunal, District Court, High Court and the Court of Appeal.
She also represents clients at mediations and judicial settlement conferences.
Sarah has successfully defended a number of defamation claims brought against her clients.
Claims against builders and councils concerning inadequate foundations were more common in the 1980s and the early to mid-1990s than in the 2000s.
Third party claims and 10 year limitation periods tested in court.
The appeal from the Court of Appeal was allowed in part. The council succeeded in establishing that the Southland Indoor Leisure Centre Charitable Trust had contributed to its own loss and damages were reduced by 50%.
At the Senior Building Control Officer's Forum we convened a panel on the lessons that could be taken from the Stadium Southland case.
An issue we encounter when representing councils in claims about defective building work is that the plaintiff sometimes amends the claim to include an entirely new category of building defects.
The decision of Andrews Property Services Ltd v Body Corporate 160361 & Ors [2016] NZCA 644 was an appeal of a High Court decision.
When a property is fully repaired does it suffer an ongoing diminution in value or stigma?
The WHT and the courts have leant towards findings of contributory negligence on the part of claimants where claimants have purchased property which they know is defective or is potentially defective.
Southland Indoor Leisure Centre Charitable Trust v Invercargill City Council and A S Major [2015] NZHC 1983.