Practice Areas

• Sun v Varmani Limited [2024] NZHC 1386 – stepped in at the last minute to appear for a client applying to sustain a caveat. Successfully protected the client’s caveatable interests by way of a last minute oral application for leave to file a second caveat.
• FSD v Liu [2022] NZCA 249 – successful appeal to the Court of Appeal against a High Court declaration that a residential sale and purchase agreement was validly cancelled. Involved novel issues concerning overseas investors and special conditions to the agreement relating to the Overseas Investment Act.
• MZ Ventures Limited v Millbank [2021] NZHC 1964 – a successful application to cancel a lease and evict a tenant of a commercial property who was refusing to leave the premises and damaging the property.

• Wanaka Stakeholders Group Incorporated v QLDC & Ors [2021] NZHC 852 – I juniored Bob Hollyman KC, Julian Miles KC and Brian Latimour acting for local Wanaka community group, Wanaka Stakeholders Group, in successfully challenging a decision by Queenstown Lake District Council and Queenstown Airport to take steps to prepare Wanaka Airport to receive jet aircraft.
• Grant v RITANZ [2020] NZHC 2876 – successful judicial review junioring Bob Hollyman KC acting for Damien Grant challenging a RITANZ decision not to admit Mr Grant as a member following a rule change which essentially rendered membership of RITANZ essential to continue working as a licenced liquidator.
• Cullen Group Limited v Commissioner of Inland Revenue [2019] NZHC 404 – I juniored David Cooper KC and Jeremy Johnson acting for Cullen Group Limited, an entity associated with Mr Eric Watson, challenging tax assessments by Inland Revenue which resulted in hundreds of millions of unpaid tax owing.
• Body Corporate 197281 v SRG & Ors – I acted for Body Corporate 197281 challenging the building company, engineers and body corporate advisors who carried out weathertightness remedial work. Involved complex inter-corporate and inter-party dynamics which ultimately resulted in a mediated settlement.

• Blakely v Blakely [2023] NZFC 13284 – a successful judgment for my client against his ex-partner who was attempting to argue for a larger share of the parties’ family trust. My client was able to obtain orders for the sale of Trust orders and enforce those orders despite the opposition of his former partner.
• Maule v Cooper [2023] NZHC 1638 – acted for Ms Maule in successfully opposing Mr Cooper’s application to set aside the parties’ section 21A settlement agreement. The matter was complicated by Mr Cooper’s involvement in the well-known Debut Homes litigation.
• Numerous mediated settlements – I have acted for countless people in successfully resolving relationship property disputes by way of settlement or after mediation or arbitral proceedings.

• Hedgeman v Driver [2022] NZHC 3356 – a claim by the daughter of a woman who passed without leaving anything to her three daughters in her estate, all three of which were in financial need and two of which were disabled. Complicated by the fact the executor of the estate was deemed mentally incapable during the proceeding, which necessitated further claims to replace the executor.
• McLaughin v McLaughlin & Anor [2021] NZHC 3015 – a claim by three brothers against a fourth brother for various breaches of his trustee duties in the course of developing a rural family property near Nelson into a large subdivision. I juniored Jeremy Johnson in a three week High Court trial involving considerable expert evidence and novel equitable claims following various UK decisions on similar issues.
• Numerous mediated settlements – I have acted for a number of beneficiaries of trusts and estates in claims against trusts and executors, as well as for trustees and executors, where the claims have ultimately resulted in settlement, avoiding costly legal proceedings.

Banks v Farmer – I juniored Jeremy Johnson in this significant and complex breach of directors duty case before I went overseas. Involved running the case up to trial and drafting considerable amounts of expert evidence and cross-examination.
Boaden v Mahoney – I act for a creditor of a company placed into liquidation challenging the decision of the director to continue trading when the company was insolvent. Involves novel issues of liability by directors directly to creditors for breach of their director duties and Fair Trading Act obligations. This case is ongoing.