Defective and leaky building litigation
Tim Rainey is widely respected as one of New Zealand’s most experienced and capable advocates in defective building litigation. Tim has presented seminars for the New Zealand Law Society on this subject and has been involved in several of the leading decisions in this area. Tim’s experience includes negligence claims against local authorities arising out of the performance of their statutory functions under the Building Act as well as claims against architects and engineers and those directly involved in the construction of defective buildings.
Tim’s notable cases in this area include:
Body Corporate 202254 v Taylor [2009] 2 NZLR 17, where Tim acted for the successful appellant. This case addressed the liability of directors of limited liability companies for acts and omissions in the performance of their role as “director” both in tort and under the Fair Trading Act, and remains New Zealand’s leading authority in that area.
Osborne v Auckland Council [2014] NZSC 67, where Tim acted for the appellants in their successful appeal to the Supreme Court in judicial review proceedings challenging the interpretation of the eligibility criteria for a “claim” under the Weathertight Homes Resolution Services Act 2006. Tim’s argument persuaded the Supreme Court to overturn five prior decisions of the High Court and two prior decisions of the Court of Appeal on that issue.
Saffioti v Ward [2013] NZHC 2831, where Tim acted for the unsuccessful appellants in an appeal addressing the contractual liability arising from the sale and purchase of a leaky home.
Body Corporate 326421 v Auckland Council [2015] NZHC 862, where Tim acted for the successful plaintiffs in High Court proceedings against the Council and other parties directly involved in the design and construction of a defective multi-storey apartment complex in Orewa. This remains one of the largest defective building cases to go to trial in New Zealand.
Lee v Whangarei District Council [2016] NZSC 173, where Tim acted for Olivia Lee in her successful appeal against a decision entering summary judgment against her on limitation grounds. The Supreme Court accepted Tim’s argument that applying for an assessor’s report under the Weathertight Homes Resolution Services Act 2006 stopped the clock for limitation purposes on all claims arising out of the property.
More recent cases in this area include:
Cridge v Studorp Ltd [2024] NZCA 483, [2025] 2 NZLR 69, where Tim was part of the appellants’ counsel team in a significant class action appeal concerning the liability of a manufacturer for allegedly defective cladding products used in residential construction. The Court of Appeal confirmed that a manufacturer can owe a duty of care to subsequent purchasers, although the appeal was dismissed on the facts.
Rea v Auckland Council [2024] NZCA 313, [2024] 3 NZLR 242 (leave to appeal to the Supreme Court declined [2024] NZSC 148), where Tim appeared as counsel in the Court of Appeal in a significant decision on whether a negligence claim against a local authority was time-barred. The case turned on the “late knowledge” provisions in s 14 of the Limitation Act 2010 and their application to defective building claims.
Keys v Patterson [2025] NZHC 2676, where Tim acted for third parties who had carried out remedial work more than ten years before the proceeding was brought. The claims against them were dismissed as time-barred under the 10-year long-stop in s 393 of the Building Act 2004, notwithstanding findings of limited defects in the work.
Linehan v Thames-Coromandel District Council [2023] NZCA 288, where Tim appeared as counsel in a Court of Appeal proceeding arising from alleged defects in the design and construction of a residential property, involving issues of liability for design and construction failures that commonly arise in defective building litigation.
Contact
Tim is happy to provide advice and representation in any of his areas of expertise.