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Dispute Resolution – Trial and Settlement
Chris has had extensive trial experience having appeared as lead or junior counsel in over 175 witness hearings in the past thirteen years. However, the reality is that the large majority of disputes are resolved by way of an agreed settlement. Approximately 80-90% of all of Chris’ cases result in a successful settlement often without the principal dispute ever seeing the inside of a Courtroom. Chris has been counsel in excess of 800 mediations and Judicial Settlement Conferences.
Chris’ ability to successfully resolve disputes is a significant contributing factor to why he continues to receive regular instructions from a number of top New Zealand and Australian law firms, publicly listed companies, private companies and high net worth individuals. Copies of written references from some of New Zealand’s and Australia’s senior commercial solicitors are available on request.
A small sample of the hundreds of disputes that Chris has been involved in the resolution of since going to the Independent Bar is set out below.
- Instructed by an insurer to defend a failed publicly listed (Canadian Stock Exchange) technology company following the closure of its New Zealand head office and 18 subsidiary companies.
- Instructed by an insurer to defend a telecommunications company in respect of claims arising out of a merger and acquisition.
- Restraining media investigation and publication of consumer complaints against a number of high profile cosmetic and health care companies.
- Termination, re-entry and recovery against lessees on behalf of lessors in both commercial and high end luxury residential tenancies.
- Acting for claimants in two separate sets of internet defamation proceedings that involved the successful application for and obtaining of urgent interim injunctions to have the defamatory material removed from various domestic and international websites.
- Various copyright enforcement claims relating to computer software on behalf of the copyright owners.
- Copyright enforcement claims by franchisors against former franchisees and trade competitors.
- Acting for several trade mark owners to enforce trade mark rights and intellectual property rights.
- Acting for copyright holders in respect to claims arising out of alleged copyright infringement in the use of a musical work.
- Enforcement of patent rights against inventors.
- Resolving trade practices and passing-off disputes between various commercial competitors in both New Zealand and Australia.
- Acting for multiple unit title owners at multiple sites in respect to claims against developers arising out of various misrepresentations as to the nature and quality of the developments.
- Acting for various high net worth individuals in respect to relationship (matrimonial) property divisions and claims.
- Acting for and against directors in various reckless trading claims.
- Acting for joint venture partners in respect to joint venture partnership disputes.
- Acting for shareholders in various shareholders’ disputes including buy/sell disputes.
- Acting for various employers against former employees in respect to theft, misuse of confidential and proprietary information and breaching restraint of trade obligations.
- Acting for various employers to prevent and/or stop threatened and actual strike action.
- Acting for several large professional services partnerships in respect to both partnership and employment disputes.
- Acting for an international telecommunications company in respect to failed software development project.
- Acting for a distributor in respect to wrongfully terminated distribution agreement regarding a high profile consumer product.
- Acting for various creditors in respect to the removal and replacement of various receivers and/or liquidators.
- Acting for shareholders in respect to the termination of liquidations.
- The appointment of interim liquidators on behalf of creditors and/or shareholders.
- Acting for various investors to obtain recoveries from promoters of failed financial schemes.
- Acting for various purchasers and vendors in relation to various business sale and purchase disputes.
- The resolution of estate and testamentary promises disputes.
- Acting for estates in relation to fraudulent behaviour by beneficiaries.
- Recovery actions by third parties against estates.
- Acting for taxpayers in the resolution of taxation disputes and prosecutions by the Inland Revenue Department. Acting for vendors in respect to a $12.5m sale of rural land, involving the cancellation of the sale and purchase agreement as a result of deception as to the identity of the purchasers and a subsequent claim by a third party in relation to a first right of refusal.
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