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Christchurch’s February earthquake impacted many commercially leased buildings.  Some were destroyed, while others were damaged or left inaccessible.  Affected landlords and tenants now face the following issues, amongst others – is rent still payable and how much, and what obligation does the landlord have to repair the premises?

What does my lease say?

The first port of call is the terms of your lease.  However, many leases provide the following:

  • My Building is badly damaged or destroyed

The lease only ends if: [click to continue…]

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If your business suffered damage in the Christchurch earthquakes, negotiating a successful insurance claim will be vital for the viability of your business going forward.  We have a free checklist of basic information you need to collect to begin making an insurance claim. This is a useful tool whatever stage of the process you are at.

Key questions that you need to be able to answer include:

  • What cover do I have for physical damage?
  • Can I replace my contents and stock?
  • Am I covered for lost profits or rent?
  • Am I covered for my additional costs from the earthquake, and for how long?
  • Can I get interim payments before my claim is finalized?

It can be hard to know where to start. [click to continue…]

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NZ Budget 2011

by Kris on 19 May 2011



At 2pm today the National Government delivered their third Budget since coming to power.  It is an election year Budget, but unlike with previous Governments, is unlikely to contain the sweeteners that had become commonplace.  It will hit most people in the pocket, one way or another.

 

This year, in collaboration with Ayers Legal, Minter Ellison and Tomlinson Law, we are proud to present a series of podcasts from different perspectives on the Budget.

 

You can listen at the following link:  http://www.talktax.co.nz/index.php/2011/05/19/nzbudget-2011-three-perspectives/ and we will post transcripts in the next couple of days.

 

We hope you enjoy listening.

 

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Greenpeace loses charitable status

by Kris on 10 May 2011

Tomorrow morning at 7:45am I will be interviewed on TV 3 Firstline by Rachel Smalley to discuss the recently released Greenpeace case.  Before doing so, I thought it would be a good idea to post a few thoughts on the case for those interested in this development in charity law.  We hope you enjoy the post, and we will post a link to the TV 3 interview here during the day if we can source a copy.

Main points of this post [click to continue…]

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Protection Orders

April 6, 2011

We depart from our usual Christchurch Earthquake theme to discuss protection orders.  A summary of the main points of this post are:

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Christchurch Earthquake Tax Relief

March 30, 2011

 On 28 March 2011 the Government announced measures to alleviate the significant financial burden on businesses in Christchurch caused by the September 2010 and February 2011 earthquakes.  In this series of blogs we cover the Christchurch Earthquake tax relief measures.  This blog considers the exemptions in relation to donated trading stock.  

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Christhurch Earthquake legal issues for employees

March 30, 2011

 In this, our fourth and final blog on employment issues, we look at legal issues for employees resulting from the Christchurch earthquake.  This includes issues such as redundancy, and whether or not you are entitle to financial assistance. Can I be made redundant as a result of the earthquake?  

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Christchurch Earthquake Employment Law Continued

March 29, 2011

This is our third blog on employment law issues for those affected by the Christchurch Earthquake.  We answer the question: My business is not going to open again or, at least, not in the near future, can I make all or some of my employees redundant?  

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Christchurch Earthquake issues for employers

March 25, 2011

This blog continues with our series of blogs on the legal consequeces of the Christchurch Earthquake by our qualified New Zealand Lawyers. 1.      My business is unable to keep operating (or was unable to operate for a time) after the earthquake due to damage or a police cordon, how long do I have to keep [...]

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Christchurch Earthquake Employment Law

March 22, 2011

For Employers My business couldn’t operate for a period of time after the earthquake, am I entitled to any financial assistance towards paying my employees?

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