In the courts

Takeovers Panel seeks leave to be heard in an amalgamation proposal
In the first case since the Takeovers Panel signalled its change in attitude to schemes of arrangements and amalgamations involving code companies, the Court of Appeal expresses its preliminary views on the Panel's right to be heard.

High Court awards penalties for NZ Bus merger
In September, the High Court issued its first penalty decision for a breach of the business acquisition provisions (section 47) of the Commerce Act. For this reason alone the decision is important, however, it also provides some practical guidance because it is one of the rare occasions under the Commerce Act where the parties have not agreed on a penalty and then simply sought to have that endorsed by the court.

A fiduciary relationship can exist between parties without a finally concluded joint venture agreement
The Supreme Court has upheld a decision determining that an informal commercial relationship between property developers gave rise to fiduciary obligations but differed from the Court of Appeal on how the party should be compensated for breaching those obligations.

Commerce Commission continues active pursuit of breaches of the Fair Trading Act
The Commission has been busy this quarter with a further run of high profile wins and out-of-court settlements from companies found to have breached the required standards of consumer law.

In brief
A brief update on cases reported in recent issues of the Commercial Quarterly .

Enquiries and information

For more information on any of the cases, articles and features in Commercial Quarterly, please email Diane Graham or call her on 64 9 916 8849.