Brinsdon v Courtney

[2015] NZHC 924

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND WELLINGTON REGISTRY

CIV-2014-485-2444 [2015] NZHC 924

BETWEEN

PETER SHAUN BRINSDON,

DEBORAH ANN BRINSDON AND CRAIG ALEXANDER CARRAN Plaintiffs

AND

SARAH JEAN COURTNEY, FRANCIS WILLIAM JAMES COURTNEY AND WILLIAM DUNCAN MACDONALD First Defendant

WARD ADAMS BRYAN-LAMB Second Defendant

Teleconference:

5 May 2015

Counsel:

S J Baldwin for Plaintiffs
E S K Dalzell for First Defendant
J Eckford for Second Defendant

Interim

Judgment:

5 May 2015

INTERIM JUDGMENT OF THE HON JUSTICE KÓS

[1]      This is a weathertightness claim concerning a property at 12 Atamira Close, Churton Park, Wellington.  The plaintiffs are the present owners of the property.  The first defendants are the previous owners of the property.   The second defendants were the plaintiffs’ solicitors on the purchase transaction.

[2]      There is a deficiency in the agreement for sale and purchase executed by the plaintiffs and first defendants.  The parties used the standard form Auckland District Law Society (Eighth Edition) agreement for sale and purchase of real estate.   It

normally contains ten printed pages.  The present agreement contains eight of those

BRINSDON & ORS v COURTNEY & ORS [2015] NZHC 924 [5 May 2015]

pages, plus an additional page setting out some special conditions of sale.  Missing are pages four and five of the standard form, containing cls 3.13 to 6.5 inclusive.

[3]      It is now common ground that the agreement for sale and purchase should be rectified to reincorporate the two missing pages.

[4]      Given consensus, I give judgment now in terms of the rectification cause of action.

[5]      All other causes of action remain to be tried on 30 November 2015.

Stephen Kós J

Solicitors:

Grimshaw & Co, Wellington for Plaintiffs
Parker & Associates, Wellington for First Defendant

Parker Cowan, Lawyers, Queenstown for Second Defendant