Leaky building owners have until December to lodge claims

MEDIA RELEASE

MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 2015

Leaky building owners have until December to lodge claims and join the Cladding Action against James Hardie

Today specialist litigation law firm and leaky building experts, Parker & Associates filed High Court proceedings against cladding manufacturer, James Hardie. The claim alleges James Hardie was negligent in its design, manufacture and supply of the Harditex cladding system.

Thousands of properties were built using Harditex through the 1990s and early 2000s. James Hardie has in the past denied any fault or failings with their product.

Plaintiffs in the case are Tracey Cridge and Mark Unwin who were shocked to recently find their home has widespread water damage. “We called in experts to look at what we first thought was a little leak and then discovered widespread internal water damage in our home and now we are looking at repair costs of over $200,000,” said Ms Cridge.

A group is now being formed to bring a class action or test case on behalf of similarly affected property owners. It is intended that claimants will pool resources to self-fund the Cladding Action against James Hardie without the need for separate litigation funding.

Owners of leaky buildings or potentially leaky buildings are encouraged to investigate if Harditex cladding systems have been used in their structures.

“Anyone whose property was built after 1990 using Harditex cladding and has suffered damage as a result of the alleged system defects, may be eligible to join the claim,” says Dan Parker, partner at Parker & Associates. “Many homeowners will have no idea of potential problems with their properties and hidden damage without expert investigation.”

Parker & Associates are offering property owners a free preliminary assessment. This will be capped at one hour of free firm time per property for the first 500 enquiries. Assessments will be subject to investigation as required by building experts.

Owners need to move quickly as after 31 December 2015 there will be a bar on claims based on acts or omissions that occurred more than 15 years ago. Many of the alleged negligent acts in question and affected properties date back to the 1990s.

A recent Court of Appeal judgment in the leaky schools litigation held that a product liability claim against a cladding manufacturer is arguable and is not subject to the 10 year limitation period under the Building Act. This leaves open the ability to claim against a cladding manufacturer for negligent design and manufacture work that occurred more than ten years ago.

Interested potential claimants can obtain further information by registering interest with Parker & Associates at 05084Parker or ph: 04 499 0390, www.parkerandassociates.co.nz or email info@parkerandassociates.co.nz

An information seminar will also be held on 12 August in Tauranga at 5.30pm, PRENDOS offices, 93 First Ave. Please register with Parker & Associates.

Since 2001 Parker & Associates has achieved recoveries for hundreds of owners of residential houses and apartments and commercial buildings. It has dealt with most of the major Wellington multi-unit claims. It has also handled claims against James Hardie and others, which settled on confidential terms. Parker & Associates act for the plaintiffs in the Kiwifruit claim, a $280 million class action against the Crown by kiwifruit growers and a post-harvest operator in relation to kiwifruit disease Psa-V.

Ends

Notes to editors:
Client endorsements and successful leaky building cases led Parker & Associates:
The Loft apartments
Parker & Associates acted on behalf of 29 owners of The Loft apartments in a $13 million leaky-building claim in central Wellington settled out of court in 2014. Herwig Raubal is body corporate chair of The Loft apartments: “Parker & Associates was recommended to us by our lawyers as specialists in leaky building cases. Dan and his team got our case to the High Court in a short time frame and knew exactly what needed to be done to right the situation for the 29 apartment owners. There was an understanding of how we felt as individuals and as a group. He helped the owners realise what we were up against, engaged with us to hear our views and negotiated a great outcome. The owners were very happy.”

Stadium Gardens Apartments
Parker & Associates achieved a confidential settlement for owners of 87 residential units in the Stadium Gardens Apartments two days before a 10 week hearing was scheduled. The complex at Stadium Gardens was completely repaired with Prendos as remediation consultants and Naylor Love as the building contractor in 2013. John Weiss was body corporate chair for the group of 81 owners and says: “The quality of work was excellent and the outcome was the best possible – the building is now repaired, better than new, and its value is returning. Dan and his team were extremely effective, supportive and honest, and guided us through the process during what was a very stressful time.”

Glenmore Street
Parker & Associates acted for the body corporate and owners of four units at 14C Glenmore Street, Thorndon in their successful claim against Wellington City Council. Judgment was obtained in February 2014 after a three week hearing in November 2013 for $2.5m including costs. Kristina Ryan was one of the four Glenmore Street apartment owners: “The highlight for us was that Parker & Associates achieved outstanding results. The case went to court which was a difficult decision to make, but it turned out to be well worth it. The High Court awarded $1.9 million compensation for lost value on the four townhouses, plus expert witness costs and gave us a good uplift in legal costs. This was considerably more that we could have expected if we had not gone down that track. Dan and his team were very thorough and meticulous in putting together the case, relying on solid evidence and a wide group of experts. We got the best outcome possible and were able to move on.”

Luxford Villas
Luxford Villas is a 40 unit complex. Initially the repair work was estimated to be around $12,000 and a matter was heard by the Disputes Tribunal. However after a detailed scope of repair was completed the final figure for the cost of repair was $4 million. The claim was against the main contractor and third parties. After two mediations and approximately three weeks before hearing a $5 million settlement was achieved for the clients.

First Windows and Doors
Parker & Associates acted for a window supplier, First Windows and Doors, in their successful defence of a high profile leaky building claim against them and others in the Weathertight Homes Tribunal and upon appeal to the High Court. The client obtained one of the highest award of costs that has been awarded in the Weathertight Homes jurisdiction, where cost awards are rare.

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