Practice Areas

Property disputes

 

If you are facing a dispute in relation to a property, whether it be sale and purchase, misrepresentations, construction defects, or leasing, I can help.  I will make the process easier, understandable and above all as successful as possible.

Neighbour disputes

High Court and District Court claims arising from obstructions from trees, shared use of driveways or other rights of ways, restrictive covenants and other Property Law Act applications.

 Shared ownership claims

Cross lease disputes, unit title disputes, and joint ownership claims including resulting or constructive trusts.

Lease and Sale & Purchase disputes

Examples of my practice in this area include a lessor's obligations of maintenance under a lease; reinstatement on expiry of commercial leases; recovering costs of damage from tenants; misrepresentation on sale; cancellation for non-disclosure; fraud and deceit by sellers; breach of vendor warranties; liability of real estate agents in negligence and under the Fair Trading Act 1986.

 TRUSTS AND ESTATES DISPUTES

Including Testamentary Promises Act claims; disputes in relation to distribution of a will; replacement of trustees and breach of trust claims.

commercial litigation

My general practice covers contract disputes, negligence, debt recovery, trustee disputes, claims under the Fair Trading Act, claims against guarantors, insurance litigation and cross-jurisdictional disputes including forum non conveniens applications.

I have acted for clients in Europe, Australia and Hong Kong on commercial matters.

As well as trial work and appeals, I can assist with urgent applications, interim orders, summary judgment and judicial review.

INSURANCE LITIGATION

I have acted for insurers and policy holders.  I provide advice on coverage issues and representation through any insurance related dispute, with an emphasis on property damage and business interruption, claims against professionals seeking cover under professional indemnity insurance (PII) and life insurance.   

Examples oF RECENT work:

  • Successful defence of a $50M claim arising from a failed sale of a mining lease and assetsMokau South Resources Ltd v Xu [2025] NZHC 3871.

  • In 2016 I completed a paper on the LLM course at the University of Auckland, on the Law of Insurance Contracts.

  • My article entitled “Classification of Concurrent Causes: AMI v Legg” was published in the Insurance Law Journal (2018) 29 ILJ 269

  • Obtaining judgment in excess of Euro2.5M on a commercial dispute Business Control (Schweiz) AG v Shibalova [2025] NZHC 1120.

  • Successful forum non conveniens application in relation to a dispute involving international clients and a Liechtenstein Trust Griffin Trust AG v Global Oil Services Ltd [2019] NZHC 3418

  • Partnership disputes (arbitration and court proceedings) and litigation arising from failed joint ventures.

sPORTS LAW

I act for national sporting organisations and athletes in relation to sports related disputes including nomination and selection decisions, disciplinary matters and anti-doping rule violations. As a member of the Sports Tribunal Legal Assistance panel I offer low-cost representation for hearings before The Tribunal and the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

I am an Appeals Commissioner for the New Zealand Olympic Committee.

Peer reviewed article: “The Interpretation and Application of Article 10.11.1 of the World Anti-Doping Code in Non-Analytical Violation Proceedings: Substantial Delay and the Discretion to Backdate the Starting Date for a Sanction” Australia New Zealand Sports Law Journal 2017 - 2018