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Last Updated: 24 June 2014
e 31(132)
June 2014, Wellington, new Zealand | R e p o R t 1 3 2
LiabiLity of
MuLtipLe defendants
June 2014, Wellington, New Zealand | REPORT
132
LIABILITY OF
MULTIPLE DEFENDANTS
The Law Commission is an independent, central advisory body established by
statute to undertake the systematic review, reform and
development of the law
of New Zealand. Its purpose is to help achieve law that is just, principled
and accessible and that reflects
the heritage and aspirations of the peoples
of New Zealand.
The Commissioners are:
Honourable Sir Grant Hammond KNZM – President
Judge Peter Boshier
Dr Geoff McLay
Honourable Dr Wayne Mapp QSO
The General Manager of the Law Commission is Roland Daysh
The office of the Law Commission is at Level 19, 171 Featherston Street, Wellington
Postal address: PO Box 2590, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
Document Exchange Number: sp 23534
Telephone: (04) 473-3453, Facsimile: (04) 471-0959
Email: com@lawcom.govt.nz
Internet: www.lawcom.govt.nz
A catalogue record for this title is available from the National Library of New Zealand. ISBN 978-1-877569-56-2 (print)
ISBN 978-1-877569-55-5 (online)
ISSN 0113-2334 (print) ISSN 1177-6196 (online)
This Report may be cited as NZLC R132
This Report is also available on the Internet at the Law Commission’s
website: www.lawcom.govt.nz
ii Law Commission Report
3 June 2014
The Hon Judith Collins
Minister Responsible for the Law Commission
Parliament Buildings
WELLINGTON
Dear Minister
NZLC R132—LIABILITY OF MULTIPLE DEFENDANTS
I am pleased to submit to you the above Report under section 16 of the Law
Commission Act 1985. Yours sincerely
Sir Grant Hammond
President
Liability of Multiple Defendants iii
Foreword
The question of how liability should be allocated in civil matters, when
two or more parties are held liable for damage caused
to another party or
plaintiff, remains controversial. It is clear that if two or more liable
defendants have caused the same loss,
then those liable defendants must
compensate the plaintiff. The more difficult question is how to allocate
liability among
the liable defendants. There are two main answers, and
continuing disagreement as to which answer is best.
Many countries, including New Zealand, use a long-established rule called
“joint and several liability”. Joint and several
liability is
primarily concerned with protecting the injured plaintiff. As the name
suggests, the rule relies on the idea that
all the parties who caused the
plaintiff’s loss are each liable for the full amount of the damages
awarded. But the plaintiff
can only recover the total amount of the damages.
This rule protects the plaintiff. If one liable party is insolvent, has died
or has disappeared, the others may have to pay more than their share of
responsibility alone would indicate, to make sure the
plaintiff recovers in
full.
The other main rule is “proportionate liability”. This
rule is used to deal with multiple liable defendants
in some countries,
including Australia. Under proportionate liability, each liable defendant is
allocated or apportioned a share
of the total liability, based on the
court’s judgment of each liable defendant’s share of responsibility
or fault.
If one party does not pay their share for any reason, the
plaintiff cannot recover that uncollected share from another defendant.
Liable parties are protected from paying more than their
“proportion”, which means the plaintiff must bear
the risk
that there may be a missing liable party.
Many people, including people who made submissions to this review,
think proportionate liability should be the rule in New
Zealand. Each liable
party would be required to pay their court-determined share of responsibility
for the damage suffered by the
plaintiff. All the shares would add up to 100 per
cent, and as long as the liable parties all pay their shares, the plaintiff
can still be made whole. Many others argue for joint and several liability, and
say that liable defendants should only ever be liable
for losses that they have
caused or contributed to.
Not surprisingly, views on which rule is better, fairer or more efficient
tend to divide neatly according to whether a person is
more likely to be a
plaintiff or a defendant. The views of either side are often strongly
entrenched, and there is no
consensus on which system is fairer. Given these
strongly divergent views, and the large numbers of multiple defendant cases
that have come from the leaky homes crisis, the Law Commission was asked to
examine the issues again, to consider whether
one rule is clearly
preferable.
iv Law Commission Report
The Commission is of the view that joint and several liability is
clearly the preferable system. We recommend it remain
the general rule.
However, we have also identified adjustments that can be made, to improve
fairness for both sides, and for particular sectors where defendants may
face unusual circumstances or truly excessive liability.
Overall, we consider that retention of joint and several liability,
but with the adjustments we recommend, will provide
an appropriate
balance of protection for plaintiffs, and fairness to other
parties.
Sir Grant Hammond
President
Liability of Multiple Defendants v
Acknowledgements
The Law Commission gratefully acknowledges the contributions of all the
people and organisations who made submissions and provided
input in other ways
to this review. Copies of submissions remain available on the Commission’s
website at www.lawcom.govt.nz/project/review-joint-and-several-
liability.
The project was led by the Honourable Dr Wayne Mapp QSO. The Senior Legal
& Policy Advisor was Peter McRae and the Legal &
Policy Advisor was
Eliza Prestidge Oldfield. Rachel Hayward and Mark Wright were instrumental in
getting the project underway.
Kristen Ross contributed to bringing this
Report to
publication.
vi Law Commission Report
Contents
Foreword .................................................................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................. vi Summary .................................................................................................................................................... 3
Recommendations
.....................................................................................................................................
7
Chapter 1 The reasons for this review
..................................................................................................
|
10
|
Introduction
.......................................................................................................................................
|
10
|
The background to the review
..........................................................................................................
|
11
|
The scope of this Report
....................................................................................................................
|
13
|
Chapter 2 Options for allocating liability among multiple defendants
................................................
|
14
|
Introduction
.......................................................................................................................................
|
14
|
Joint and several liability fundamentals
...........................................................................................
|
14
|
Proportionate liability
........................................................................................................................
|
17
|
Partial reform options
........................................................................................................................
|
18
|
Chapter 3 The appropriate liability system for multiple defendants
...................................................
|
19
|
Introduction
.......................................................................................................................................
|
19
|
Analysis of joint and several liability
...............................................................................................
|
19
|
Analysis of proportionate liability
....................................................................................................
|
21
|
Complexity of proceedings
................................................................................................................
|
23
|
Issues in loss allocation
.....................................................................................................................
|
24
|
Submitter comments
..........................................................................................................................
|
25
|
The appropriate liability system
.......................................................................................................
|
26
|
Chapter 4 Partial reform options
...........................................................................................................
|
28
|
Introduction
.......................................................................................................................................
|
28
|
Different reform options
...................................................................................................................
|
28
|
Assessment of partial reform options
...............................................................................................
|
31
|
Chapter 5 Relief for a minor defendant
.................................................................................................
|
33
|
Introduction
.......................................................................................................................................
|
33
|
The case for reform
............................................................................................................................
|
34
|
Detail of proposed reform
.................................................................................................................
|
35
|
Chapter 6 Supplementary contribution
.................................................................................................
|
41
|
Introduction
.......................................................................................................................................
|
41
|
Rationale for reform
..........................................................................................................................
|
42
|
Changes to rules of contribution
.......................................................................................................
|
43
|
Liability of Multiple Defendants 1
Contents
Chapter 7 The building sector: room for a special case?
......................................................................
|
45
|
Introduction
.......................................................................................................................................
|
45
|
Proportionate liability for the building sector?
................................................................................
|
46
|
The impact of regulatory change
......................................................................................................
|
48
|
A cap on building consent authority liability
...................................................................................
|
54
|
The case for a comprehensive building warranty scheme
..............................................................
|
56
|
Chapter 8 Liability of professional service providers and advisers
....................................................
|
59
|
Introduction
.......................................................................................................................................
|
59
|
Closer economic relations with Australia
........................................................................................
|
60
|
Options for providing relief
...............................................................................................................
|
61
|
Operation of capped liability in Australia
........................................................................................
|
64
|
A special case for auditors
.................................................................................................................
|
66
|
The Commission’s view
.....................................................................................................................
|
68
|
Appendix A
.............................................................................................................................................
|
71
|
Indicative draft: relief for minor defendant
.....................................................................................
|
71
|
Appendix B
..............................................................................................................................................
|
73
|
Draft Civil Liability and Contribution Act
.......................................................................................
|
73
|
Appendix C
.............................................................................................................................................
|
88
|
List of Submitters
...............................................................................................................................
|
88
|
2 Law Commission Report
Summary
1 The question of how to allocate liability for damages
among two or more parties who are liable to pay for the same damage is
controversial
in New Zealand and in other common law countries. Difficulties
arise when at least one of the liable parties cannot or does
not pay.
Should other liable parties be made to pay the plaintiff all the damages,
including any amount left unpaid by a missing
defendant?1 Or is it
fairer to for each defendant to be liable only for their proportionate share of
responsibility for the plaintiff’s
loss (as determined by a court) with
the plaintiff having to bear the cost of any uncollectable share? In effect, the
key choice
that must be determined is: who bears the risk of an uncollectable
share – the plaintiff or defendants?
2 In New Zealand where more than one party is in
breach of obligations imposed through tort, equity or contract, and these
breaches
together cause the same loss or damage,2 the present basis
of liability is joint and several liability. That is, each defendant is
liable for the whole of the plaintiff’s
loss. This is the case
regardless of how many other defendants are also liable, although contributions
from other defendants may
be sought. This liability regime protects the
plaintiff. If one liable defendant is not available or is insolvent, the
plaintiff
can enforce judgment against the remaining liable defendant(s) for any
part of the damages that remain unpaid. The risk of a liable
defendant not
paying their share is borne by the other liable defendants.
3 The most common alternative regime to joint
and several liability is some version of proportionate liability.
Under a pure proportionate liability regime, each liable defendant is
liable only for the proportion of loss or damage
that a court determines
is just, taking into account each defendant’s relative level of
fault or comparative responsibility.
This liability regime protects
defendants from having to pay any more than what the court determines is their
share of responsibility
or blame, and the risk of a defendant not paying their
share is borne by the plaintiff.
4 In 2011, following Cabinet deliberations on the
impact of the leaky homes crisis on the building sector, the Minister
Responsible
for the Law Commission referred a request to the Law
Commission to conduct a review of what rules should govern the
situation
where two or more civil defendants are held liable to a plaintiff for the same
indivisible damage.
The most appropriate liability system for multiple
defendants
5 The terms of reference for this project state that:
The Law Commission will consider whether the rule [of joint and several
liability] should be retained, replaced or amended,
either generally, or in
relation to particular professions or industries, including the building and
construction industry,
auditors and
accountants.
1 Usually described as an “uncollected share” or “uncollectable share”.
2 Parties may however agree in contract the extent to which they will be
liable to one another for breaches and, if applicable,
how liability may be
apportioned between multiple parties.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 3
Summary
The Commission will consider the key advantages and disadvantages of
different forms of liability, including:
– joint and several liability;
– proportionate liability;
– liability capped by statute; and
– contractual limitations on liability.
6 We began this project by publishing an Issues Paper in November 2012.3 In response to the Paper, we received submissions from a number of groups, including local government, the building sector, members of the accounting and legal professions, homeowners, insurance firms and other professional advisers. We also met with many people who have significant interest or experience in the operation of the joint and several liability rule.
THE COMMISSION’S CONCLUSIONS
Joint and several liability
7 In assessing the merits of civil liability regimes
where there are multiple defendants, we are of the view that the policy issue
fundamentally comes down to a choice between a liable defendant having the
risk that a co-liable defendant will not be able
to pay their share, or the
plaintiff bearing that risk. We have concluded that protection should
continue to be afforded
to the innocent party. Liable defendants who have
actually caused the harm should bear the risk of uncollectable
shares.
8 A convincing case for proportionate liability would
need to demonstrate that a switch would better support industry or commerce
by being more economically efficient. This might justify a change, even if it
involved transferring risks to plaintiffs. However,
we could not locate any
empirical evidence to show that proportionate liability can achieve such
efficiencies.
9 Therefore, our primary recommendation is that joint
and several liability should be retained where more than one party is
in
breach of obligations imposed through tort, equity or contract, and these
breaches together cause the same loss or damage. However,
we make further
recommendations to allow for some relief from the full effects of joint and
several liability where the effects on
liable defendants may be extreme.
The minor defendant
10 Many submitters and consultation participants argued
that joint and several liability is unfair because it can result in a
party
whose breach has contributed the plaintiff’s loss, but is minor
compared to the other liable defendants, bearing
the full amount of the loss.
While we found it difficult to assess how often this occurs, we nevertheless
can conceive of circumstances
that could produce a clear injustice if a truly
minor party was required to meet significant damages left unpaid by other
parties.
11 We have therefore recommended giving the courts power
to make orders that would mitigate the full application of joint
and
several liability to defendants who have only a minor responsibility
for a plaintiff’s loss, in a case where
joint and several liability
would produce a clear injustice. Nevertheless, we expect joint and several
liability to remain
the norm. In a case where a court decides that relief
is warranted, the court must balance the interests of the plaintiff
and minor
liable defendant, and ensure that the plaintiff will still receive an
effective remedy.
3 Law Commission Review of Joint and Several Liability (NZLC IP32,
2012) [Issues Paper].
4 Law Commission Report
Contributions by co-liable defendants towards uncollected
shares
12 Even where there is more than one available and
solvent liable defendant under the joint and several liability rule,
one
liable defendant can be required to pay the full loss or a
disproportionate amount of the loss to the plaintiff. It
is then up to that
defendant to pursue the other solvent liable defendants. However, under the
rules of contribution, those other
liable defendants cannot be required to pay
more than their allocated contribution to the defendant who has already paid
the
plaintiff in full. Accordingly, one liable defendant (the defendant first
pursued by the plaintiff) will bear either the full
amount or a greater
proportion of uncollected shares of insolvent or missing liable
defendants.
13 In our view available and solvent liable defendants
should share the cost of uncollected shares, in direct proportion to their
shares of responsibility. We therefore recommend an addition to the rules
of contribution that will permit an application
for supplementary
contribution, to spread the cost of an uncollected share proportionately
among remaining solvent liable
defendants.
Specific sectors
14 It was clear from our consultation and our own
research that two sectors are likely to suffer disproportionately from
“deep
pocket” issues, or as a result of a major or catastrophic
liability event.
15 The first sector was residential construction,
particularly local authority participants who act as building consent
authorities.
As a result of the leaky building crisis, local authorities have
frequently been “deep pocket” defendants, to the
point where they
have been unable to insure for weathertightness-related liability. Building
consent authorities are also unusual
in that they do not enter a market to
make a profit, cannot withdraw from providing mandated services and usually
have no choice
other than to pass on incurred liabilities to
ratepayers.
16 We considered the practicality of introducing
proportionality in the residential construction sector. Without evidence of
the
deep pocket issue being a systemic problem beyond local authority
participants, we could not recommend the introduction
of proportionate
liability in this sector. This conclusion was bolstered by some specific
legislative steps that have been taken
over the past decade to help resolve the
leaky home crisis, as well as more general changes and improvements to building
legislation
and regulations.
17 However, we recognise that the deep pocket problem
will remain after leaky homes have been dealt with, especially if another
major liability event occurs. We therefore recommend the introduction of
caps on liability for building consent authorities,
for new liabilities arising
after leaky homes claims have been dealt with.
18 In their submissions, many professional service
providers and advisers argued that, like local authorities, they were at
risk
of being or becoming deep pocket defendants. This is because it is
common in this field to have public liability or professional
indemnity
insurance and to have strong incentives to minimise reputational risk by
settling a claim or threatened claim. These
factors, it is argued, may lead to
professionals paying more than their fair share of responsibility. These
submitters argued for
proportionate liability and capped liability, both
of which are in operation in Australia.
19 We find that, in the absence of trans-Tasman markets
for professional services, the risk of being the liable defendant first sued
by
the plaintiff is one which must be borne by the defendant. In so far as is
practical, professionals can often still reduce
the potential scale of
liability through indemnity insurance and by negotiating contractual limitations
of liability.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 5
Summary
20 However, where a trans-Tasman market for particular
services does exist we find the argument to better align liability systems
more compelling. We are satisfied a trans-Tasman market for audits of large
firms already exists, and it will continue to expand.
With capped liability
schemes for auditors applying in all or nearly all States in Australia, we
have recommended that New Zealand
auditors conducting large audits have a
capped liability scheme in broadly similar terms to Australian models. We
expect
that such a scheme should be structured so that most normal
liability events will be unaffected. But, should a very large
audit firm be
exposed to a catastrophic loss, their liability would be capped at a known
level, set by the
scheme.
6 Law Commission Report
Recommendations
CHAPTER 3
LIABILITY REGIME FOR MULTIPLE DEFENDANTS
R1 Where two or more civil defendants are held liable to a plaintiff
for the same, indivisible damage, the basis for determining
liability should
continue to be that of joint and several liability.
CHAPTER 4
PARTIAL REFORM OPTIONS
R2 A hybrid rule, incorporating some elements of proportionality into joint
and several liability, should not be introduced into
the liability regime for
multiple defendants.
CHAPTER 5
RELIEF FOR A MINOR DEFENDANT
R3 While joint and several liability remains the rule, a court or
tribunal should have discretion to make orders mitigating
the full
application of joint and several liability in respect of a defendant who
has only a minor and limited responsibility
for the plaintiff’s loss, if
the court or tribunal is satisfied that requiring the minor defendant to pay the
full or part
of an amount unpaid by another defendant would be unduly harsh and
unjust.
R4 The relief for a minor defendant should be provided for in a new s 17A of the Law Reform
Act 1936 or another appropriate statute, if that Act is
consolidated.
R5 The new provision should include terms to ensure that:
(1) (2)
A minor defendant means a party held liable in a civil action but
which or whom the court or tribunal determines bears only
a minor and
limited responsibility for the plaintiff’s loss.
A liable
party is not a minor defendant only because:
. the
party’s share of responsibility falls below a particular percentage or
proportion,
or is less than any other party’s share of responsibility, or
both;
. the party’s involvement in relevant
events was largely or completely restricted to
providing verification, certification or other independent services
required to facilitate the events or elements of
them; or
.
the party was under a statutory obligation to provide
relevant services or take
relevant actions.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 7
Recommendations
(3)
(4)
(5)
The minor defendant may apply to the court or tribunal to be relieved from
the full effect of their joint and several liability
to the plaintiff, except
that an application made more than 12 months after the relevant judgment was
sealed is subject to leave
to apply being granted.
In granting
relief, the court or tribunal must be satisfied that:
.
the minor defendant, together with any other minor defendant
approved by the
court, is or are the only parties available to pay the judgment sum or any
remaining unpaid portion of the judgment sum;
. requiring the
minor defendant to pay all or some part of the unpaid amount would
be unduly harsh and unjust; and
. the
circumstances provide justification for some relief from joint and several
liability.
When granting any relief under this section the
court or tribunal must ensure that:
. the plaintiff will still
receive an effective remedy;
. the result achieves reasonable
fairness between plaintiff and minor defendant; and
.
the relief does not reduce the plaintiff’s potential recovery
from all liable parties to
less than half the damages they were awarded in respect of the relevant damage.
CHAPTER 6
SUPPLEMENTARY CONTRIBUTION
R6 The rules of contribution should be extended to allow a defendant
required to pay all or part of a share of liability
left unpaid by
another defendant, to apply for supplementary contribution from other
solvent defendants or judgment
debtors. A court or tribunal ordering
supplementary contribution should do so by ordering contributions
proportionate to
the shares of responsibility of each solvent party, including
the applicant.
R7 The additional rule should be modelled on proposed section 17 of a draft Civil Liability and Contribution Bill appended to the Law Commission’s Report, Apportionment of Civil Liability, and added, with all necessary modifications, to the existing provisions governing
contribution in section 17 of the Law Reform Act
1936.
CHAPTER 7
THE BUILDING SECTOR
R8 Participants in the building sector should remain subject to the
normal application of joint and several liability.
R9 The liability of building consent authorities held liable in tort for
acts and omissions relating to building consents and all
related work should be
capped.
8 Law Commission Report
. The cap should be set initially at: $300,000 for a single dwelling; $150,000 per unit in a multi-unit development; and $3 million per multi-unit development, with such rates reviewed over time against appropriate indices to ensure each cap remains fair to potential plaintiffs and authorities.
. Any cap should apply only to new claims arising from acts or omissions that occur after
23 July 2016 (which is the date the Financial Assistance Package is due to
close to new claims).
R10
R11
The Building Act 2004 should be amended to clarify the responsibility and
potential liability of building consent authorities for commercial building
consents by enacting a new section, section 52Z, which defines the extent
and limits of building consent authority liability
for commercial consents,
in similar form to sections 52I and 52L (which deal with responsibilities for
simple and low risk residential
consents, respectively).
The Ministry
of Business, Innovation and Employment should continue to develop, for
implementation if proved feasible,
a comprehensive residential building
guarantee scheme with options suitable for both standalone and multi-unit
dwellings.
CHAPTER 8
LIABILITY OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICE PROVIDERS AND ADVISERS
R12
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
Professional service providers and advisers should remain subject to the
normal application of joint and several liability.
Auditors and audit
firms conducting large or complex audits in New Zealand, including audits
of listed companies, other
issuers or Financial Market Conduct reporting
entities, should be able to participate in a capped liability scheme covering
their audit work, provided the scheme is approved by the Financial Markets
Authority (FMA) and individuals and firms qualify for
and comply with the
scheme.
The New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA),
its successor and/or other accredited professional bodies should
be invited to
develop an initial scheme to be submitted to the FMA or other suitable statutory
supervisor, which may approve the
scheme.
The cap for each audit firm
should be based on revenue, with a $2.5 million cap where income from
large or complex
audits is under $10 million per annum, a $25 million
cap where income from large or complex audits is between $10 and $20 million
per
annum and an $80 million cap where income from large or complex audits
is over $20 million per annum.
The cap will apply to all claims from
contracting parties or third party investors, whether founded in contract,
equity, tort,
or otherwise but will not apply to liability arising from
fraud, dishonesty or other intentional wrongdoing.
Approval of a scheme
will be for a maximum of five years, with the professional body able to make an
application for a new or renewed
scheme at that time.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 9
CHAPTER 1: The reasons for this review
Chapter 1
The reasons for this review
INTRODUCTION
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
This Report examines and makes recommendations on what rule or
rules should govern the situation where two or more
civil defendants are
held liable to a plaintiff for the same, indivisible damage. The reference
to undertake a fresh look
at this issue4 was generated by
Cabinet in 2011 as a result of deliberations on measures responding to the
leaky buildings crisis.
The reference reflects the fact that the issue
has been and remains important and controversial for parties to litigation
where
there is likely to be more than a single defendant. Whether
plaintiffs will be more or less able to recover all of the
losses they have
suffered depends on whether joint and several liability, or some form of
proportionate liability applies. Defendants,
on the other hand, will either
remain liable to pay up to 100 per cent of losses, or alternatively only a
proportionate share
that reflects their share of responsibility. This is
because of the differences in the two rules. As we explained in our
Issues
Paper.5
. under joint and several liability each
defendant held liable for the same damage is liable for
the whole of that damage, regardless of how many other defendants are
also liable for the damage (but may seek contributions
from the other
defendants); whereas
. under proportionate liability each
liable defendant is liable only for the proportion of the loss
or damage that a court determines is just, taking into account each
defendant’s relative level of fault or comparative
responsibility.
The key issue is how each rule allocates the risk of an
absent, insolvent or otherwise unavailable liable defendant. The current rule
of
joint and several liability protects the plaintiff by holding each liable
defendant liable for the whole loss they caused
or contributed to. If
one liable defendant is not available, the plaintiff can enforce
judgment against the remaining
liable defendant(s) for any part of the
damages that remains unpaid. Alternatively, the plaintiff can simply enforce
judgment
against a party who can pay, and leave that party to seek contribution
from others. By contrast, proportionate liability protects
defendants from
having to pay any more than what the court determines is their share of the
responsibility or blame, comparative
to other defendants. If the plaintiff
cannot collect any defendant’s share, it remains unpaid. Thus under
joint and
several liability the risk of a defendant not paying is borne by the
other liable defendants, while under proportionate liability,
the risk is borne
by the plaintiff.
Given the differing allocation of risk and the
direct cost consequences on either plaintiffs or liable defendants, the
choice of which rule should apply remains contentious. The debate is also
often phrased in terms of fairness. Is it fair
that a single defendant
with possibly slight responsibility for the damage suffered by the plaintiff
may nevertheless be required
to meet the whole cost? Or is it fair that a
plaintiff cannot recover all of their loss, even though there may be liable
defendants
available who have been held to have caused the damage and have the
ability
4 The Law Commission undertook a review of joint and several liability and produced a Report in 1998: Law Commission Apportionment of Civil
Liability (NZLC R47, 1998).
5 Law Commission Review of Joint and Several Liability (NZLC IP32,
2012) [Issues Paper] at 3.
10 Law Commission Report
1.5
to pay?6 Other commentators have explored whether one rule or
the other is more efficient in economic terms, but no obvious consensus has
emerged.7
The task for this Report is therefore to reach a
conclusion on matters that are relatively well canvassed, but that are
still
contentious. This required us to approach and analyse options, so far
as possible, afresh and without preconceived views.
After a study of the
options and the available literature, and after consultations with many
interested groups, we developed
criteria to assist with a principled
evaluation and choice between the options. The criteria take into
account:
. whether the current regime creates identifiable
problems, and whether an alternative regime
would address or reduce these problems without creating equivalent or
new problems;
. the costs to affected parties of each
regime;
. fairness to and between parties under each
option; and
. whether any option will produce
efficiency gains that should be counted in its favour.
THE BACKGROUND TO THE REVIEW
1.6
1.7
1.8
We noted in our Issues Paper that discussion of the relative merits of
joint and several liability versus proportionate liability
has been ongoing for
at least 20 years.8 In 1992, as part of a wider project dealing
with apportionment of civil liability, the Law Commission released preliminary
proposals
that included retaining joint and several liability.9
The Commission delayed its Final Report on that project to await the
outcome of similar work being undertaken in Australia.
When the Commission
finally reported in 1998, it continued to recommend the retention of joint
and several liability.10 The Commission considered that this
recommendation was required to avoid negative impact on plaintiffs and to best
achieve the common
law commitment to the objective of fully compensating
plaintiffs for loss suffered.11 Similar conclusions were reached
by law reform bodies in, for instance, Australia and
Canada.12
However, these reports did not settle matters.
From 2001 Australia suffered an insurance crisis. This was partly influenced
by
overseas events including the Enron scandal, but was more
particularly driven by the collapse of the HIH Insurance Group,
previously a
dominant provider in the professional indemnity and public liability insurance
market. The insurance crisis had a role
in influencing economic reforms; in
2002 the Australian Federal Government agreed with all States to move to a
proportionate liability
regime for property damage and economic loss claims
involving failure to take reasonable care, and for statute-based misleading
and deceptive conduct claims.13
Unlike Australia, New
Zealand did not experience insurance difficulties. However, New Zealand
did suffer from the rapid
development of leaky home and leaky building problems
from around 2000, and in due course this served to reignite concerns about
joint and several liability.
6 A problem with these arguments is that they tend to be phrased in terms of fairness or unfairness to one side or the other. The challenge for this review has been to arrive, after analysis, at the choice of the rule that is most fair and appropriate, balancing where necessary the respective interests of plaintiffs and defendants.
7 See Issues Paper, above n 5, at ch 8 for a summary of some of the main contributions.
8 Issues Paper, above n 5, at [1.7]. See [1.7] to [1.15] for a more detailed summary of the relevant history.
9 Law Commission Apportionment of Civil Liability (NZLC PP19, 1992).
10 Law Commission, above n 4, at [90].
11 Issues Paper, above n 5, at [4.5].
12 Issues Paper, above n 5, at [1.8] to [1.9].
13 P Long “The impact of proportionate liability legislation”
(2010) 7(6) CL 74 at 74. The change became effective,
State by State, on various
dates in 2004 and 2005.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 11
CHAPTER 1: The reasons for this review
Leaky homes and liability
1.9
1.10
1.11
1.12
As we discussed in our Issues Paper, the leaky homes crisis has been
a major liability event for the wider building
industry, centred on
leaking or weathertightness issues and affecting predominantly new
residential homes in both standalone
and multi-unit developments. The crisis
had multiple causes and cases typically involve multiple potential liable
parties.14
Leaky homes cases have brought renewed calls to
deal with perceived problems with joint and several liability. The large
number
of participants involved in any significant building project readily
translates to a number of potential defendants for a leaky
home claim. Each
potential defendant will, most likely, have made varying contributions to any
lack of weathertightness that is
proven, and may eventually be held to bear
differing shares of responsibility (based on the secondary contribution
rules) while
still being jointly and severally liable for the plaintiff’s
indivisible damage (primary liability).
The sheer scale of the crisis
in the building industry has contributed to an increasing number of liable
defendants becoming unavailable
because of personal insolvency or corporate
collapse. This has left a shrinking supply of solvent liable defendants
to
meet some or all of the uncollected share left by insolvent liable
defendants. This is inevitably perceived as unfair
by solvent liable
defendants, especially if they bore only a small or very small share of
overall responsibility. The
impact of uncollected shares also fell
disproportionately on certain categories of liable defendants, especially
local
authorities who cannot become unavailable due to insolvency and have
deep pockets funded by ratepayers.
It was as a consequence of the
leaky homes situation that the Government asked the Law Commission to take
a fresh look at
the issues under joint and several liability and make
recommendations on whether any change is required.15 Although the
leaky home crisis was the catalyst, our review and this Report is not restricted
to considering certain sectors or situations.
The Commission has completed
a first principles review of the competing liability rules for multiple
parties, and has
sought in its recommendations to propose rules of general
application, while still taking account of conditions that may apply in
particular sectors.
The global financial crisis
1.13
1.14
Problems in world financial markets, after Enron from 2001 and again
from 2007 as part of the Global Financial Crisis,
have contributed to
further concerns regarding joint and several liability. The most notable
result of the financial crisis
in New Zealand has been the failure of
numerous non-bank finance companies or investment schemes, from as early as
2005 through
to and beyond 2010. Litigation resulting from these failures
has been dominated by criminal prosecutions of finance company
directors.
However, the possibility exists that depositors interested in recovering
lost investments may be able to
target a finance company auditor, trustee
or supervisor, and could benefit from joint and several liability if the
party
sued has assets or insurance.
More generally, Enron and the
Global Financial Crisis raise at least the theoretical prospect of another
major liability event
causing a catastrophic failure, like that of Enron’s
auditors, Arthur Andersen. Large audit firms, in particular, have argued
that joint and several liability leaves
14 The causes included, at least: introduction of new building products, especially monolithic cladding; wider use of untreated softwood timber, including for structural work and framing; increasing compartmentalisation and use of unskilled labour-only contractors on more tasks; varying and inadequate skills generally; poor selection of materials for particular jobs, whether because of skill gaps or cost drivers; uneven or inadequate inspection standards and systems from local authorities and new private sector certifiers; and a difficult transition to a quite different regulatory environment. The range of potential causal factors means that virtually all parties involved in a residential construction, from developers and designers through to builders, subcontractors and building consent authorities and certifiers could be liable for damage caused by weathertightness faults in a leaky home.
15 Cabinet Office Circular “Building Act Review: Review of Joint
and Several Liability” (14 September 2011) EGI Min (11) 20/12 at
[4].
12 Law Commission Report
important economic infrastructure open to unlimited and potentially catastrophic losses that the economy as a whole cannot afford.16
THE SCOPE OF THIS REPORT
1.15
1.16
1.17
1.18
The principal question that this Report must answer is which, of joint and
several liability and proportionate liability, is the
appropriate rule for New
Zealand today. We set out our analysis of the issues and consequent
recommendation on this central
point in Chapters 2 and 3. We provide a
general answer and recommendation, applicable to all cases where liability of
multiple
defendants arises. We also give separate consideration to whether the
features and needs of particular sectors require some
individual treatment,
in Chapters 6 to 8.
The terms of reference require us to examine
hybrid schemes, involving some mixture of elements of joint and several
liability, proportionate liability, or some other arrangement, as well as
arrangements for capping liability, either by contract
or through statute. We
deal with the possibility of hybrids in Chapter 4. Capping is discussed
in Chapters 7 and 8 as part
of our consideration of limitation of liability
for building consent authorities, professional advisers and service
providers.
Capping is most relevant for these groups because it may
mitigate the catastrophic loss risk, and reflects that capping is
already a
reality in Australia.
We have also considered whether other adjustments
could or should be made. In the building sector, we note the desirability
of more comprehensive and effective building guarantee or warranty products,
whether or not the liability rule changes.
In the building sector it is
also necessary to work through the implications for the liability of building
consent authorities
(local authorities) from changes to consenting rules and
allocation of responsibility. The landscape for local authority liability
in
this area is changing and this should be clearly understood and consistently
expressed in the relevant legislation.
There are issues this Report
was not intended to, and does not, address. This Report mainly concerns
an important set of
secondary liability rules, namely how liability is
allocated amongst multiple defendants after they have each been held liable
according to some primary liability rule.17 Whether a party is
liable to a plaintiff is clearly the fundamental issue in any potential claim,
and will normally be of much
greater or immediate significance to the
plaintiff and defendant than the secondary liability rules regarding
multiple
defendants. Controversial issues exist in respect of many of these
primary liability rules, for instance the liability
of local authorities
for negligence regarding commercial or non-residential building projects,
as found recently in Spencer on Byron.18 As indicated in
the previous paragraph, we consider that recent legislative changes to
building legislation implicitly affect
the commercial buildings issue,
as well as other liabilities in the sector, and it would be helpful if
such liabilities
were spelled out as clearly as possible. However this
Report cannot and does not seek to address the many and varied issues
surrounding primary liability in negligence, either in the building or
local government sector, or
generally.
16 See the submissions of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PWC on Issues Paper.
17 For example liability in negligence, breach of contract, or on some other basis, such as statute.
18 Body Corporate 207624 v North Shore City Council [2012] NZSC 83, [2013] 2 NZLR 297 [Spencer on Byron]. See Issues Paper, above n 5, at
[5.19]–[5.23] for a discussion of that case.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 13
CHAPTER 2: Options for allocating liability among multiple
defendants
Chapter 2
Options for allocating liability among multiple
defendants
INTRODUCTION
2.1
2.2
2.3
This review addresses issues that arise in cases where multiple parties
have been found liable for the same loss. This may
occur where the liable
parties have each contributed to the single loss through separate actions, or
where they have together
performed or participated in the same action(s)
that caused the loss.19
Under the current law in New Zealand,
two wrongdoers20 who have caused the same damage will be
“jointly and severally liable” to compensate the injured party for
the full amount
of the loss. Their shared responsibility for the loss requires
each of the liable defendants to pay up to the full cost of damages
awarded to
the injured party to ensure that the injured party receives full
compensation.
As discussed in Chapter 1, the system of joint and
several liability has been the subject of extensive discussion and
debate
in the past few decades, and some jurisdictions have moved to alternative
systems for allocating liability among multiple
defendants. This chapter will
outline how these different systems operate in practice, including some of
the more significant
issues in application.21 The remainder of the
Report will draw on this discussion when assessing the problems with the
current system and recommending
options for reform.
JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY FUNDAMENTALS
2.4
2.5
Currently in New Zealand the allocation of loss among multiple liable
defendants is determined by the rule of joint and several
liability, which is
a common law rule,22 and the law governing contribution between
wrongdoers, which is found in equitable rules and section 17 of the Law Reform
Act 1936.
The rules provide that when multiple defendants are
held jointly and severally liable for one indivisible loss suffered
by
the plaintiff, they can each be obliged to pay up to the full amount of
the damages awarded for the loss (although the
injured party cannot recover
more than the total loss assessed by the court). Contribution rules act
to soften the harsh
effects that joint and several liability can have
on liable defendants. Each set of rules focuses on different
responsibilities
or relationships. Joint and several liability focuses
squarely on each wrongdoer’s liability to the injured party, whereas
contribution rules concentrate on each liable defendant’s responsibility
to other wrongdoers, albeit in the context of
each owing or
being
19 Although use of terms varies somewhat in different jurisdictions, in tort law persons whose separate or unrelated actions cause a single loss are known as “concurrent tortfeasors”. Persons who acted together (or are deemed to be acting together, for example, partners) and cause a loss are known as “joint tortfeasors”.
20 For ease of expression, we will use the term “wrongdoers” to mean parties who have been or who may be found liable in civil litigation.
21 More detailed description of different liability schemes can be found in Law Commission Review of Joint and Severable Liability (NZLC IP32,
2012) [Issues Paper].
22 More detail about this can be found in Issues Paper, above n
21.
14 Law Commission Report
capable of owing concurrent liability to the plaintiff.23 It is
only when all contribution awards against or in favour of each liable
defendant are considered together that the relative
liability or shares of
responsibility between the wrongdoers becomes clear. Each jointly and
severally liable wrongdoer is still
liable to pay the plaintiff up to 100 per
cent of the total damages, but can realistically hope to recover amounts
they pay
beyond their “share” from contributions owed to them
by other wrongdoers. Unless there are any missing wrongdoers,
the result
will be proportionate to the apportionment of responsibility determined by the
court. However, the individual wrongdoers
have to do the work to pursue other
wrongdoers to collect contributions and thereby minimise their total cost from
being held
liable.
Assessment of liability
2.6
2.7
In proceedings with multiple defendants, the courts must determine
whether each defendant should be held liable for the
loss claimed by the
plaintiff. This is not a matter of degree. The particular legal rules
that the court must apply
vary depending on the case and what the plaintiff
alleges. But the defendant will either be liable or not liable, depending
on whether or not they breached, for example, a contract or a legal duty,
and in doing so caused some relevant loss
or damage. The court also must
decide whether the loss is single and indivisible, or whether different aspects
of the loss should
be attributed to different liable defendants. A single,
indivisible loss contributed to or caused by several wrongdoers is a common
but not inevitable finding. The following example illustrates how losses can
fairly be divided, even if at first they appear indivisible.
The plaintiffs own a leaky home. An independent report identifies five major causes of the leaks:
. lack of eaves over the windows;
. failure of monolithic cladding;
. the use of untreated timber;
. improperly secured window flashings; and
. improperly laid waterproofing on an upstairs deck on the
south side of the house.
The plaintiffs are suing the architect, the builder who decided to use
untreated timber and who was responsible for installing
window flashings,
the subcontractor who installed the waterproofing on the upstairs deck, and the
Council as building consent authority.
The court finds that architect, builder and Council negligently caused damage
to the entire building but the subcontractor caused
damage only to the deck and
the area of the south wall below the deck. The total cost to fix all leaks is
$250,000. Water ingress
through windows on the south wall, combined with the
damage from the deck, means the entire south wall will need to be
replaced.
The subcontractor is jointly and severally liable with the other
parties for this divisible portion of the loss, with damages
assessed as
$75,000; while the other parties are jointly and severally liable for the
entire cost of the rebuild ($250,000,
including the $75,000 portion for the
deck and south wall).
As the above example demonstrates, wrongdoers will
only be jointly and severally liable where they have each been found to have
caused
the same damage. The logic of the rule is that these wrongdoers have all
caused the whole loss through their actions, and there
is no sensible way of
dividing their common obligation to the plaintiff between them. This
reflects the completely orthodox
view that if a defendant is proved to have
wrongfully caused or contributed to a loss,
23 Because the plaintiff has the choice of who to pursue, they may
decide not to sue a particular wrongdoer. Another wrongdoer
may nevertheless add
that wrongdoer as a third party, so long as they can demonstrate that the
wrongdoer would have been liable
if sued in time: Law Reform Act 1936, s
17(1)(c).
Liability of Multiple Defendants 15
CHAPTER 2: Options for allocating liability among multiple
defendants
compensation should be available from that defendant for all of that
loss.24 The appropriate levels of contribution between each of
the liable defendants is assessed separately.
Contribution between wrongdoers
2.8
2.9
2.10
Section 17 of the Law Reform Act 1936 provides for contribution between
multiple parties liable for the same damage. Alternatively,
parties may rely
on equitable contribution.25 Liable defendants can claim
contributions from each other and these can be assessed in the main
proceeding that determines
liability to the plaintiff. Liable
defendants can also claim contributions in a subsequent proceeding. In
practice,
contribution is generally assessed as part of the main
proceeding.26 The plaintiff will claim against one or more
defendants, each of whom may then join third parties or make cross-claims
against
other defendants, to bring their claims for contribution. The court
will first determine whether each defendant is liable to the
plaintiff. The
court will then assess respective contributions of the liable defendants and
those of third parties.
The combined effect of joint and several
liability and contribution means that each defendant found jointly and
severally
liable for the indivisible loss can be called upon by the plaintiff
to pay in full, but can hope to receive sufficient contribution
from other
liable defendants to reduce their net exposure to their “share” of
responsibility. For example:
A plaintiff sues two defendants D1 and D2. D2 joins D3 and D4. Each defendant cross-claims against the others. First the court finds that the four defendants are jointly and severally liable for the whole loss of $100,000. For contribution purposes the court then assesses the defendants’ relative fault: D1 –
40 per cent; D2 – 30 per cent; D3 – 20 per cent; D4 – 10
per cent.
The judgment will therefore contain an order to the following effect:
. D1 is to pay the plaintiffs $100,00027 and is entitled to recover up to $30,000 from D2, up to
$20,000 from D3, and up to $10,000 from D4 for amounts paid above $40,000.
. D2 is to pay the plaintiffs $100,000 and is entitled to recover up to $40,000 from D1, up to $20,000
from D3, and up to $10,000 from D4 for amounts paid above $30,000.
. D3 is to pay the plaintiffs $100,000 and is entitled to recover up to $40,000 from D1, up to $30,000
from D2, and up to $10,000 from D4 for amounts paid above $20,000.
. D4 is to pay the plaintiffs $100,000 and is entitled to recover up to $40,000 from D1, up to $30,000
from D2, and up to $20,000 from D3 for amounts paid above $10,000.
The
plaintiff is entitled to seek the full amount from any liable defendant and
leave it to that defendant to recover from the
others. This should not be
problematic where the other parties are solvent and amenable to court
orders, if required.
However, this process can mean that any
unrecoverable shares as a result of a missing or insolvent liable defendant
will
be borne by a single liable defendant. Even if two or more remaining liable
defendants share the burden of paying the plaintiff
an unpaid amount, it is
unlikely that their additional payments will be
24 Causation can be a complex issue, and evidence and argument over causation will often be critical to determining liability. For the purposes of this Report when we say a defendant “has caused” a loss, we generally mean that on a common sense basis the defendant’s actions are a necessary or “but for” cause of the loss that is not trivial or able to be ignored as de minimus, and which the court determines falls within the scope of liability for the particular cause of action.
25 Particularly where defendants are sued under different causes of action, making the Law Reform Act provisions difficult or impossible to apply.
For a recent but difficult New Zealand case involving equitable contribution, see Marlborough District Council v Altimarloch Joint Venture Ltd
[2012] NZSC 11, [2012] 2 NZLR 726.
26 In more complex cases, separate proceedings may be required to determine contribution.
27 An alternative formulation would be that the court orders or gives
judgment for the plaintiff against defendants D1, D2,
and so forth in the
amount of $100,000. The contribution orders in favour of each defendant could
then follow in similar form as
above.
16 Law Commission Report
2.11
proportionate to either the shares of responsibility of all the liable
defendants, or the shares of responsibility of those who
still remain
available to pay.
The combination of the joint and several liability rule
and the contribution rules often produces a reasonably proportionate result
for
liable defendants. However, the primary focus remains on maximising the
plaintiff’s or judgment creditor’s
opportunities for being paid,
and there is currently no mechanism for seeking to improve proportionality
among remaining wrongdoers
where it has been defeated by an unavailable
wrongdoer’s uncollected share.28
PROPORTIONATE LIABILITY
2.12
2.13
2.14
2.15
Proportionate liability is the name given to systems of allocating
liability among multiple wrongdoers so that each wrongdoer
is liable for no
more than their relative share of fault. For proportionate liability to
operate effectively, it is necessary
for all potentially liable parties to
be joined in the same proceedings. The court will determine whether each
of the
parties is liable, and then determine their relative liability. The
plaintiff can then recover from each of the wrongdoers but only
in accordance
with their assessed shares.
The major ramification of proportionate
liability is that the plaintiff bears the risk of uncollectable
shares.
If a liable defendant becomes insolvent or otherwise unavailable
after judgment, the plaintiff cannot look to the other
liable
defendants to pay the outstanding amount. Therefore, the relative liability
of the wrongdoers becomes a matter of concern
to the plaintiff, who will have
an interest in ensuring that a greater proportion of the loss is allocated to
wrongdoers who are
likely to be able to satisfy the
judgment.
Proportionate liability presents a difficult conceptual and
procedural problem: how to deal with parties who are not joined
to the
proceedings?29 This is known as the “empty chair”
or “phantom defendant” problem. Empty chairs or phantom
defendants
can occur for different reasons and the effects on the
parties and the proceeding may vary.30 One example might
occur in a leaky building claim where the building company has been
liquidated before the commencement
of proceedings. In some jurisdictions, the
court may take account of the liability of absent parties in determining the
relative
shares. In other jurisdictions the court will ignore the potential
liability of absent parties. Both options present problems.
Allowing the
liability of an absent party to be taken into account is consistent with the
principle behind proportionate liability.
The difficultly with this option
is that it risks creating highly complex litigation. Defendants will have a
strong incentive
to identify as many missing parties as possible and to argue
that they all would have been liable if available. Without
access to
information known only to the absent party or parties, it may be difficult
for the courts to accurately assess
their relative liability. Of course,
courts will adopt a robust approach to parties seeking to rely on highly
speculative arguments
or evidence about parties who cannot be shown to have a
real connection with the matter in hand. There is nevertheless potential
for
fairness issues to arise for plaintiffs. Each dollar of liability
allocated to an absent, possibly insolvent defendant
may directly reduce
the plaintiff’s recovery, with the plaintiff having little ability to
challenge the scale of impact.
28 The prospects for improving proportionality in the latter situation are discussed in ch 6, below.
29 For a detailed discussion of this issue, see N Marcus “Phantom Parties and Other Practical Problems with the Attempted Abolition of Joint and
Several Liability” (2007) 60 Ark Law Rev 438.
30 Possibilities include: where a wrongdoer is already insolvent or is
approaching insolvency; the wrongdoer has died (but
the wrongdoer’s
estate may still be liable); the wrongdoer has physical, geographical or other
barriers that affect their
ability to participate; or a wrongdoer who could
participate elects, either tactically or from ignorance, not to answer
summons.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 17
CHAPTER 2: Options for allocating liability among multiple
defendants
2.16
Ignoring the liability of an absent party is also problematic and is a departure from the rationale for proportionate liability. Doing this at trial would create a difference in outcome depending on when a potentially liable party becomes unavailable. If a building company becomes insolvent and is liquidated before the plaintiff discovers the defects and brings a claim, the other parties will bear what would have been the absent party’s share. If the building company is liquidated after judgment, the plaintiff will be unable to recover the share allocated. However, there could be an incentive for plaintiffs to delay bringing claims for as long as possible to increase the likelihood that financially vulnerable parties become unavailable before the proceedings rather than after.
PARTIAL REFORM OPTIONS
2.17
2.18
In the course of this review it has become apparent that full proportionate
liability is very rare. Most jurisdictions that have
reformed the rule of
joint and several liability have not shifted wholly to proportionate
liability, instead adopting
more moderate or partial reforms.31
It is therefore particularly important that this review considers these
“hybrid” options.
In our Issues Paper we discussed different
partial reform models, including some used in parts of the United States and
Canada and
those considered in our previous review in 1998. Such models are
intended to ameliorate some of the effects of joint and several
liability
for defendants, without going the whole way to proportionate liability. An
example is to provide proportionate liability
where a plaintiff is found to be
contributorily negligent, with joint and several liability applying if the
plaintiff is judged
not to have contributed to their own loss. The
detail of different hybrids will be discussed more fully in Chapter
4.
31 For example, the Australian move to proportionate liability only
applies to property damage and economic loss claims
alleging negligence,
another cause of action akin to negligence, or some statutory causes of action,
including Trade Practices.
See ch 4.
18 Law Commission Report
Chapter 3
The appropriate liability system for multiple
defendants
INTRODUCTION
3.1
Having outlined the principal features of joint and several and proportionate liability, and the key differences between them, in this chapter we recommend the system we consider is best for New Zealand. This requires further analysis of the key attributes of each system. Essential to this analysis is an acceptance that each system prioritises different objectives. The starkness of the central distinction means the choice must, to some extent, be between maximising plaintiff recoveries and minimising defendant risks. The result will inevitably favour one group. However, in later chapters we consider what can be done to make the chosen system fairer to both parties.
ANALYSIS OF JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY
3.2
3.3
3.4
The requirement that each liable defendant is liable for the totality of the
loss is seen as the key advantage of joint and several
liability. Supporters of
joint and several liability accept that if one or more liable defendants are not
available, then it is
appropriate that the remaining available liable
defendants should be responsible for compensating the plaintiff. The
consistent
view of the various law commissions who have examined the
question of the appropriate liability regime is that joint and
several
liability meets the legitimate expectations of plaintiffs who have been
harmed by the actions of liable defendants.32 Any shift away
from the joint and several liability regime will transfer part of the risk
to the plaintiff. The plaintiff,
however, is the only party who has not
actually caused the loss, unless there is an issue of contributory
negligence.
This is seen as so advantageous that the law commissions have not
recommended major changes.33
An obvious but important point
to highlight is that a defendant will only incur the risk of full liability
if they have actually
contributed to the full loss. A liable defendant who
contributed to or caused only some identifiable portion of the
plaintiff’s
loss has not caused the same damage as other liable parties
and should not be jointly and severally liable with them.
The great
virtue of joint and several liability is that the plaintiff will in
theory receive full compensation for their
loss provided at least one liable
defendant is present and solvent. The plaintiff has the freedom to choose
which defendant
they will commence proceedings against. The plaintiff can
also choose which liable defendant or defendants they will enforce
judgment
against and in which order. The contribution issues between liable defendants
and third parties joined by them are matters
solely for them, and need not
concern the plaintiff.
32 New South Wales Law Reform Commission Contribution between Parties Liable for the Same Damage (Report 89, 1999); Law Commission of
Ontario Joint and Several Liability under the Ontario Business Corporations Act (2011).
33 Thus in 1999, the New South Wales Law Reform Commission did not
consider that the problems with joint and several liability
warranted a
change, above n 32. But, note that this view did not convince policy makers
at both the state and commonwealth
level. They have made the decision to
shift to proportionate liability for property and economic losses, excluding
personal
injury. Australia is so far the only complete national jurisdiction
to make this change.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 19
CHAPTER 3: The appropriate liability system for multiple
defendants
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
3.10
The consistent view of various Law Commissions who have examined the
question of the appropriate liability regime is that
joint and several liability
meets the legitimate expectations of plaintiffs who have been harmed by the
actions of liable defendants.
Any shift away from the joint and several
liability regime will transfer part of the risk to the plaintiff.
The
central feature of joint and several liability, that so long as there is
an available liable defendant an innocent
plaintiff34 will not
have to bear any proportion of the loss, is also the feature most objected
to by its critics. The question from potential
defendants and other critics is
whether it is appropriate, reasonable or fair that a liable defendant who
has the financial
capability to pay should have to bear the full loss if
other defendants are not present or are insolvent. The objection
is
especially strong if the solvent liable defendant, compared to other
defendants, was judged to bear only a small share of
fault or responsibility for
the loss.
The argument also has aspects other than fairness. It has been
asserted that the joint and several liability rule is likely to contribute
to
excessive caution by some parties.35 An example where this may
occur is a building project where there are many parties who contribute.
All parties naturally have
incentives to avoid risk and minimise their
exposure to liability. However, the argument suggests that fear of 100 per
cent
liability from joint and several liability provides strong
incentives for parties to take excessive steps to reduce or eliminate
their
risk of liability. The overall effect is to increase costs and potentially
reduce innovation, since with innovation there
is likely to be greater
risk.
It is by no means clear how far these suggested negative effects
can fairly be traced back to joint and several liability. Simple
fear of any
liability may be enough to encourage parties to exercise excessive
precaution, especially if the consequence of liability is high.
Levels of
precaution may also depend on how well defined the required standard of care
is, achievement of which would avoid liability.
If the standard of care is not
clearly defined or regulatory or judicial decisions are unpredictable, parties
may react by either
abandoning all efforts to exercise care or taking
excessive steps “just in case”. Fear of joint and several liability
may add to the mix, but it is not the only, nor necessarily the decisive, factor
affecting parties’ decisions about how much
care to exercise.
A
further effect of joint and several liability in the building industry is that
local authorities are often the only solvent and
available liable defendant,
and are effectively acting as insurers for homeowners. This means that
ratepayers are acting as insurers
of last resort when a building fails as a
result of wrongdoing by multiple insolvent wrongdoers. It must be doubtful
that
this arrangement is either efficient or fair.
The fact that
joint and several liability is the current liability regime for multiple
defendants in New Zealand, as well
as the most common regime used
internationally, is also important. Any case for proportionate liability would
need to be strong
enough to outweigh the current benefits to plaintiffs
under joint and several liability that would be lost. A convincing
case for
proportionate liability would need to demonstrate that a switch would better
support industry or commerce by being
more economically efficient. If such
a benefit were demonstrated this might justify a change, even if it
involved transferring
some risks to plaintiffs. However, as we indicated in
our Issues Paper, the economic evidence to support proportionate
liability is lacking.36 Nor have we been able to locate any
empirical evidence to show that proportionate
34 That is, where there is no question of contributory negligence on the part of the plaintiff.
35 New Zealand Productivity Commission Housing affordability inquiry (New Zealand Productivity Commission, Wellington 2012) at 161. See also Law Commission Review of Joint and Severable Liability (NZLC IP32, 2012) [Issues Paper] at ch 8.
36 Issues Paper, above n 35, see generally ch 8.
20 Law Commission Report
liability may achieve economic efficiencies. From the limited evidence available, moving to proportionate liability is likely to cause economic disbenefits.37
ANALYSIS OF PROPORTIONATE LIABILITY
3.11
3.12
3.13
3.14
The principal alternative system of liability is the proportionate
system in which each co- defendant is only liable for
the proportion of the
damage that they are judged responsible for. As noted in our Issues
Paper:38
Proportionate liability therefore rejects the common law principle that once
a defendant has been found to have wrongfully caused
a plaintiff’s loss,
that defendant is then liable to compensate the plaintiff for all the reasonably
foreseeable losses –
regardless of whether some other defendant has also
caused or contributed to the loss occurring. Proportionate liability requires
a
court to examine and discover each defendant’s relative share of
responsibility and order each defendant to pay only that
share.
Proportionate liability will disadvantage plaintiffs if liable
defendants are absent or insolvent. In such a situation, the plaintiff
will
not be able to recover the loss that is attributed to these liable
defendants. In essence the plaintiff will bear the
absent or insolvent
liable defendant’s proportion of loss. This is despite the fact that the
plaintiff has not caused the
loss and there are available and solvent
defendants who have contributed to the loss and who could pay. Similarly to
joint and several
liability, the central feature of proportionate liability is
seen by defendants as its great advantage and by plaintiffs as its
crucial
deficiency.
While joint and several liability is still the normal rule
for most countries, proportionate liability has made some headway.39
Proportionate liability has been adopted in whole or in part in most
states in the United States and for some purposes in some
Canadian provinces.
Australia is the only country to adopt proportionate liability at state and
federal levels, although not for
personal injury cases and with some grey areas
remaining in respect of other civil claims.40
The adoption of
proportionate liability in the United States must be seen as part of a
wider impetus for tort reform in North
America over at least the last 20 years.
The impetus for reform resulted from the disruption and costs to society
and business
from litigation processes and costs, which were perceived
to be spiralling out of control. Joint and several liability
was an
important target for reform because of the impact of joint and several
liability on defendants who had made, or
saw themselves as having made,
only a minor contribution to the loss. Concerns tended to focus on personal
injury and product
liability cases, and the need for general reform, not just
of joint and several liability.41 However, the cost to liable
defendants due to joint
37 MA Geiger, K Raghunandan and D V Rama “Auditor decision-making in different litigation environments: The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, audit reports and audit firm size” (2006) 25 Journal of Accounting and Public Policy 332. Geiger, Raghunandan and Rama found that after law changes that introduced proportionate liability big firm auditors were significantly less likely to issue qualified audit reports regarding clients that went into bankruptcy shortly afterwards. The change to proportionate liability was not the only change affecting litigation risk; changes in the same Act made it harder for third parties to join in class action lawsuits. But it is clearly arguable that both changes to perceived litigation risk and cost affected auditors and contributed to reduced and insufficient precaution.
38 Issues Paper, above n 35, at [3.6].
39 Issues Paper, above n 35, at ch 7 provides details on the extent to which proportionate liability has been applied in the Commonwealth and the United States. For Civil Law jurisdictions see Ken Oliphant “Concluding Reflections on the Aggregation and Divisibility of Damage in Tort Law and Insurance” in Ken Oliphant (ed) Aggregation and Divisibility of Damage (Springer, Vienna, 2009) 519 at 530.
40 Apart from the fact that proportionate liability does not apply to personal injury cases, the exact extent of proportionate liability in Australia is not completely clear, because of continued differences between state and federal legislation. Proportionate liability generally applies for claims for injury to property or economic loss that are founded in negligence and in most cases where the cause of action or claim is “akin to negligence”. Proportionate liability can therefore apply to breach of contract claims, so long as the alleged breach involved some sort of carelessness: Reinhold v NSW Lotteries Corporation (No 2) [2008] NSWSC 187; BC200801327. There are differing authorities on whether claims for simple breach of a term of a contract (without negligence) are subject to proportionate or joint and several liability, but it appears that in future they may be subject to joint and several liability: Perpetual Trustee Company Ltd v CTC Group Party Ltd (No 2) [2013] NSWCA 58; BC201301287. Some statute-based claims, for instance Australian Consumer Law claims for the equivalent of Fair Trading Act 1986 breaches, are also covered by proportionate liability – but again with variations between states.
41 See for example the discussion in G N Meros Jr “Toward a More
Just and Predictable Civil Justice System” (1997) 25 Fla St UL Rev 141.
See also Issues Paper, above n 35, at [7.20]–[7.21].
Liability of Multiple Defendants 21
CHAPTER 3: The appropriate liability system for multiple
defendants
3.15
3.16
3.17
3.18
and several liability was seen as sufficiently onerous that it42
increased the cost of business, and potentially restricted economic
innovation and activity. It was felt that the adverse economic
effects from
litigation costs, including the effect of joint and several liability,
harmed overall efficiency within the
wider economy and thus imposed costs on
the whole of society.
In Australia, the proportionate liability system
was first introduced in the building industry in Victoria and New South
Wales.43 In 2003 it the State and Commonwealth governments agreed
that there would be a general shift from joint and several liability
to
proportionate liability for situations other than personal injury.44
The reasons for this shift have not been particularly well articulated.
However, the failure of HIH Insurance in 2001, and the
subsequent
difficulty or feared difficulty in obtaining liability insurance was seen as a
crucial factor in the adoption of proportionate
liability.45 Thus
shifting a proportion of the burden of loss onto plaintiffs was seen as a
necessary response to ensure maintenance of economic
activity at pre-crisis
levels.
The experience of the general shift to proportionate
liability in Australia has been less successful than first
envisaged.
Levin observed that the proportionate system has caused
“considerable increase in the complexity and cost
of litigation and
made settlement by way of an effective offer of compromise or negotiation and
mediation more difficult”.46 This is because the
proportionate system requires a full assessment of the relative liability
of defendants at trial. The
relative shares to be borne by each of the
liable defendants is also an issue for plaintiffs. They must identify all
possible defendants who have caused the loss in order to gain the maximum
possible compensation. Plaintiffs may also need to devote
energy and argument
to convincing the court that defendants best able to pay also attract the
greatest proportionate share of
liability. At a more basic level, complexity
continues because of the unsettled boundary between proportionate liability
and joint
and several liability, for different types of claims or fact
situations, and because of differing state provisions on
several important
issues.47 The uncertainties created all add to the procedural issues
litigants have to navigate.
Jurisdictions that have shifted to
proportionate liability, either in whole or in part, have determined
that the plaintiff
may reasonably be required to carry a proportion of the
risk of absent or insolvent liable defendants. There are many examples
in
law and policy where this kind of assessment is made. It is often related to a
statute-imposed cap on the extent of loss that
can be claimed from a liable
defendant or class of defendant, or the extent of insurance that may be
offered. The extent of Accident
Compensation Corporation (ACC) coverage is
an example of limitations on payments. Other examples include the liability
of carriers
of people and cargo where the liability is limited by
legislation or international convention to an amount per kilo, or per
package,
or per person. The reason for such limits is that if the limit was greater,
carriers may not enter the market or may
not be able to stay in the
market.
The appeal of proportionate liability can also be described in
terms of supporting industry or commerce by relieving businesses
of the
threat of excessive liability. In the same manner that limiting liability for
carriers and insurers could promote the
transport and insurance markets,
proportionate liability may promote economic activity, resulting in
economic efficiency.
Looking at the Australian example, the shift to
proportionate liability first occurred in areas
42 Along with other targets for reform.
43 Building Act 1993 (Vic) ss 131 and 132; Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW), s 109ZJ. Despite the earlier date of the parent Act, the introduction in New South Wales was also from legislation enacted in 1993.
44 The Australian situation is more fully discussed in ch 8.
45 See generally Hon Justice Owen “The Failure of HIH Insurance, Vol 1: A corporate collapse and its lessons” (HIH Royal Commission, Sydney,
2003).
46 See the New Zealand Building Disputes Tribunal Quarterly Newsletter: D Levin “Proportionate liability: The Australian Experience” (2011)
9-11 Build Law.
47 Above n 40.
22 Law Commission Report
of the economy that are particularly susceptible to multiple parties contributing to activity. The building industry is notable for multiple contractors and parties contributing to the final product. In Australia the building and construction industry was the first beneficiary of the shift to proportionate liability, with a number of states introducing specific legislation for these industries.48 It had been considered unreasonable for the various parties in the building and construction industry to bear the risk that they would be responsible for the totality of the loss irrespective of their degree of fault. While the wider move to proportionate liability occurred only a decade later, it too had a “commercial” impetus, with the insurance crisis sparked by the collapse of the HIH Group.
COMPLEXITY OF PROCEEDINGS
3.19
3.20
3.21
3.22
3.23
The complexity of legal proceedings issue arises principally under
proportionate liability. Under proportionate liability the
plaintiff needs
to identify all possible defendants who may have contributed to the loss.
Failure to include a potentially
liable defendant will result in less than
full recovery.49 The incentive for the plaintiff is therefore
to include any party who might conceivably have caused loss, no matter
how tangential their alleged contribution may have been. Assuming the system
allows them to do so, a defendant may also have an
incentive to add defendants
that the plaintiff has not joined.50
In contrast, under
joint and several liability it is not crucial for the plaintiff to identify
and sue all possible defendants,
since full recovery can be made from any
one wrongdoer. Of course the defendants have the opportunity to join third
parties
in order to lay off some of the cost of the potential liability, or
they may bring subsequent proceedings for contribution for
the same
purpose.
Under either system of liability, the judge is required to
deal with the allocation of relative fault between the defendants.
However,
it is only under proportionate liability that this allocation automatically
takes place in the main proceedings.
As was noted in our Issues
Paper,51 both systems of liability are likely to lead to some
level of complication in legal proceedings since they inevitable involve
complex factual situations and multiple defendants. Each system of liability
will have their own incentives acting upon
the parties. The Australian
experience suggests that defendants as well as the plaintiff can face
difficult decisions about
whether to add another party, whom the plaintiff has
not sued.52
Under joint and several liability it is the
defendants who normally have the greatest incentive to join third parties
in order
to share the risk. In contrast, under proportionate liability,
the plaintiff has the incentive to join as many defendants
as possible,
since each of them can only incur liability up to the proportion of
their blameworthiness. The best opportunity
for the plaintiff to ensure
that they will receive full compensation for the loss is to join as many
defendants as possible
so that no one who has contributed to the loss is missed
out. The result in
48 Building Act 1993 (Vic) ss 131 and 132: Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW), s 109ZJ.
49 This is a feature of systems that take account of the liability of “empty chairs”, see the discussion in ch 2 above. Depending on the procedural rules adopted, a plaintiff could still make tactical decisions not to join particular defendants. This would likely require a rule allowing defendants to add other defendants as well – with obvious effects on complexity.
50 Again, depending on what the “empty chair” rules are.
51 Issues Paper, above n 35, at [6.13].
52 Differing rules among states make this area particularly
difficult. Greenham, Morrow and Naylor note that in Western
Australia,
South Australia and Tasmania, courts must have regard to proportionate
liability of non-parties. In New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory,
Queensland, Northern Territory
and the Commonwealth, courts may have
regard to non-parties and in Victoria they must not unless the non- party
is deceased or insolvent: Philip Greenham, Kate Morrow and Shelley Naylor
“Single line accountability!
Proportionate liability and joint and several
liability” (2011) 6 C L Int 6.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 23
CHAPTER 3: The appropriate liability system for multiple
defendants
3.24
both cases is complex proceedings involving as many parties who have
potentially contributed to the loss as possible.
The Australian
experience also suggests other sources of complexity, including some that
may be temporary and others that
could conceivably be avoided by good
legislative drafting and a simple, comprehensive scheme. As pointed out
above, proportionate
liability will not apply in Australia in every case. The
question of whether a claim is subject to proportionate liability depends
on
the particular state legislation that applies. In all cases the key
question will be whether the claim is an “apportionable
claim”.53 Whatever terminology is used, it will inevitably
take several years of litigation to determine its boundaries.
ISSUES IN LOSS ALLOCATION
3.25
3.26
3.27
As the above discussion demonstrates, allocating loss among multiple
wrongdoers is always complicated. Our Issues Paper discussed
advantages and
disadvantages of different options for apportioning liability and many of
these points were also mentioned by
submitters. In general terms, defendants
have argued that it is unfair to hold them liable for the full loss when the
loss was
not caused by their actions alone. Plaintiffs have argued that it
is unfair they should bear loss when a solvent wrongdoer
remains available.
There is no way to completely reconcile these two points of view.
Not
all issues in loss allocation raise such fundamental points of principle.
Many submitters commented that under joint and
several liability plaintiffs
target parties that appear most likely to have the capacity to pay, even
when there are other
available parties. For example, local authorities
are particularly concerned that they are likely to bear the whole of the
uncollectable
share in leaky building claims when one liable defendant is
insolvent even if there are other solvent liable defendants. This
is because
contribution rights do not extend beyond the amount or proportion originally
allocated to a particular party on judgment,
and so one liable defendant cannot
recover a share left unpaid from another liable co-defendant. This problem may
perhaps be addressed
through more moderate changes to our system of civil
litigation and we discuss such possibilities in Chapter 6.
Many
submitters also pointed to issues that arise because of other features of New
Zealand law, rather than because of the way
loss is allocated. The central
difference between proportionate and joint and several liability is limited to
who bears the cost of losses allocated to an absent party. Our terms of
reference do not extend to a more fundamental review of civil litigation in
New Zealand. For example, no matter
what system of loss allocation is
adopted, there is always a possibility that the courts will impose a
higher standard
of care than defendants consider is reasonable in some or
all classes of cases. Further, civil litigation always involves at
least the
risk that an innocent party is joined as a defendant, and elects to settle the
claim rather than bear the financial and
other costs of defending it. The
extent of the plaintiff’s legal duty to protect their own position is
also a distinct
issue. While the stakes may be higher under joint and
several liability (because a single liable defendant may end up
facing the
full loss), joint and several liability does not create the underlying
causes of defendants’ complaints in
these other areas, and this
reference does not include these issues.
53 See for example Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW), s 34. Cases have
traversed, through to the High Court of Australia, as to what falls within the
definition of “apportionable claim”.
While after 10 years some of
the possibilities have been settled (most recently in Hunt & Hunt
Lawyers v Mitchell Morgan Nominees Pty Ltd [2013] HCA 10, (2013) 247 CLR 613
on the question of what constitutes the “same damage”), there are
likely to be further ingenious arguments from plaintiffs
to suggest that their
claim is not “apportionable” on one or more grounds, meaning they
can still pursue a single
deep-pocketed liable defendant for all of their
loss.
24 Law Commission Report
SUBMITTER COMMENTS
3.28
3.29
3.30
3.31
3.32
The majority of submissions were concerned with leaky building
problems, coming from the various perspectives of local
authorities,
builders, architects, other professionals involved in construction, and
homeowners. These submitters frequently
emphasised the need for a warranty
scheme and many also expressed concern with single-build companies and
current insolvency
law. They also emphasised the need to address the overall
framework for residential building in New Zealand. For example,
the Home
Owners and Buyers Association of New Zealand (HOBANZ) stated:
The key to resolving the issues faced by both consumers and those involved
in construction of homes is to move the focus away from
liability and on to
compliance and quality.
Many local authorities also commented that
piecemeal litigation by individual homeowners is a poor solution to a systemic
problem
such as the leaky building crisis.54 Making a different
point but with similar ramifications, the New Zealand Law Society (NZLS)
stated:
It would be imprudent to make adjustments to the general law that are the
result of very specific issues arising out of the leaky
building
crisis.
Submissions from local authorities emphasised the aggregate
effects of joint and several liability on local authorities given the
scale of
the leaky building problem and the likelihood that other liable parties
will have become unavailable by the time the
homeowner discovers the damage.
Organisations representing builders and architects highlighted that their
members were fully
committed to standing behind their work, but felt
aggrieved by joint and several liability as they consider it penalises one
party
for the negligence and unavailability of another.
Many of the
issues raised by leaky home defendants are likely to arise whenever
loss is caused by concurrent wrongdoers.
It is common in such situations to
have a “perfect storm” of causative factors; the loss may only
arise because
multiple parties have all failed to some degree. The
extent of the loss may therefore be greater than the sum of the losses that
would have resulted
had each instance of negligence occurred in isolation. For
example, the negligence of the architect who designed a house with
monolithic cladding, with no cavity and without eaves is compounded by the
negligence of the builder who used untreated timber
and did not install
window flashings properly. From the perspective of either one of the
defendants, it may seem obvious
that the damage is disproportionate to their
failures, but from the plaintiff’s perspective, it may seem obvious that
anyone
who caused the loss should be required to provide full
compensation.
We also received substantial comment from accountants
regarding liability for audits. This sector raised concern around
potential
future liability rather than experience arising out of an existing liability
crisis. In particular, accountants argued
that tortious liability is not needed
to ensure high quality audits in a properly regulated environment. Furthermore,
it was argued
that the potential for liability may drive risk-averse behaviour
that does not serve the public interest, for example leading auditors
to
refuse to undertake some audits or some types of audit or to increase fees
significantly.
While common themes run through submissions from
different sectors or groups, the submissions also raise issues
that are
unique to particular sectors or groups, for instance the position of local
authorities as building consent authorities,
or the risk of catastrophic loss
to
54 It is worth noting that this point has also been made by the Court
of Appeal – see North Shore City Council v Body Corporate 188529
[2010] NZCA 64, [2010] 3 NZLR 486 [Sunset Terraces] at [212] per
Arnold J. This point would apply equally under a system of proportionate
liability or a hybrid system.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 25
CHAPTER 3: The appropriate liability system for multiple
defendants
large-scale audit firms. We will examine in Chapters 7 and 8 whether some of these specific factors require specific responses.
THE APPROPRIATE LIABILITY SYSTEM
3.33
3.34
3.35
3.36
The Law Commission has assessed the relative merits of the two broad
liability systems of joint and several liability and proportionate
liability and
recommends the retention of the joint and several liability system. We do,
however, endorse some modifications
to the joint and several liability
regime. In Chapter 5 we discuss giving the court power to make orders
that would mitigate
the full application of joint and several liability to
liable defendants who have only a minor responsibility for a loss relative
to
other liable defendants. In Chapter 6 we recommend an expansion of the rules
of contribution, to enable the cost of uncollected
shares to be more fairly
distributed among available and solvent liable defendants. We also discuss some
specific measures for
the building and construction sector and auditors
in the professional services sector in Chapters 7 and 8.
The
principal reason for the recommendation is that joint and several
liability provides the best assurance that plaintiffs
will be compensated for
their loss. Provided there is a present and solvent liable defendant who
has caused the loss, the
plaintiff will receive full compensation
irrespective of the proportion of the loss actually caused by that present
and
solvent liable defendant. The proportionate system, which limits the
liability of a liable defendant to the proportion of
the loss they have been
judged responsible for, means that if liable defendants are absent or
insolvent, it is the blameless plaintiff
who will be out of pocket. It is
imperative to note that proportionate liability is not a case of the plaintiff
sharing some
of the risk that there may be insolvent liable defendants. Under
straight proportionate liability, that risk is allocated purely
to the
plaintiff.55
Many have argued that the policy issue comes
down to a choice between an innocent plaintiff paying for an absent liable
defendant,
or an innocent liable defendant paying more than their fair share
of a loss. However, this is an incorrect summary of the issue
and one which is
too commonly made. This statement misunderstands divisible and indivisible
loss.
Joint and several liability only arises where there is
indivisible loss. This is where each liable defendant has caused or
contributed to a single indivisible loss suffered by the plaintiff. The
unfairness of the proportionate system of liability is
that the risk of the
uncollected share will be carried by a party, the plaintiff, who has not
actually caused and is not in any
sense responsible for the loss. Our conclusion
is that the asserted “unfairness” of joint and several liability to
some
defendants is, at best, overstated. No defendant is called upon to meet up
to 100 per cent of the plaintiff’s damages unless
they have first been
found to have caused the plaintiff’s loss in some material way, and meet
all other legal requirements
to be held liable. In simple terms it is just for
such a defendant to be called upon to make good the harm suffered by the
plaintiff.56
55 It is possible to build a system of proportionate liability with reallocation, where some or all of any uncollected share is eventually reallocated amongst available defendants (potentially including the plaintiff if they are judged to be contributorily negligent). Such a system could, in theory, decide what portion of the uncollected share risk should be borne by a blameless plaintiff, a negligent plaintiff and defendants. However, the closer such a system moved towards full reallocation, the nearer end results would be to simple joint and several liability, but by an administratively more complex and costly process. On the other hand, a system that allowed only a fraction of the uncollected share to fall on a blameless plaintiff could still be seen as achieving the worst of all worlds: the plaintiff is at risk of not recovering some necessarily arbitrary portion of their loss, defendants would still have to meet liability disproportionate to their responsibility, and all parties would likely bear additional costs, including extra court costs and time to dispose of claims.
56 We acknowledge however that this justice may appear strained when
the relevant defendant bears only a very small share of
responsibility for the
loss. We therefore recommend in ch 5 that a “minor defendant”
exception be provided, to avoid
or mitigate apparent unfairness in what
should be a small number of cases.
26 Law Commission Report
3.37
3.38
Thus the Commission is of the view that fundamentally the policy
issue comes down to a choice between a blameless plaintiff taking
on the risk of an absent defendant, or a wrongdoer co-defendant taking
on that risk. On this issue, the Commission comes down in favour of the
innocent party. Unless there
is some substantial reason of public policy
that demands some adjustment, parties who have actually caused the harm are
the
parties who should bear the risk.
As discussed above, the appeal
of proportionate liability rests on supporting industry or commerce by
promoting economic
efficiency. When there is no sound evidence that it
would be more efficient within the wider economy for our country as a
whole to
move this risk to the innocent party via a proportionate liability regime, the
Commission finds that there can be no
justification to depart from our
current rule of joint and several liability.
RECOMMENDATION
R1 Where two or more civil defendants are held liable to a plaintiff
for the same, indivisible damage, the basis for determining
liability should
continue to be that of joint and several
liability.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 27
CHAPTER 4: Partial reform options
Chapter 4
Partial reform options
INTRODUCTION
4.1
As indicated in Chapter 3, we do not recommend a change to proportionate liability. There are strong reasons in principle and in practice to prefer joint and several liability as the general rule for loss allocation in civil litigation. However, in the course of this review we have also considered the merits of a variety of different partial reform options. This chapter describes the partial reforms considered. The options include hybrids that combine some elements of joint and several liability and some elements of proportionate liability, liability caps limiting the total damage recoverable, and options for allocating an unrecoverable share.
DIFFERENT REFORM OPTIONS
Proportionate liability for wrongdoers below a certain
threshold
4.2
4.3
4.4
Many submitters focused on the difficult position of a wrongdoer whose
allocated share is relatively low compared to
other wrongdoers. While
the principles of causation imply that all jointly and severally liable
parties will have contributed
to the loss, this does not suggest that they
are all equally to blame. Differences in relative blameworthiness may be
reflected
in comparative level of liability as assessed through contribution
proceedings.
Many jurisdictions within the United States have adopted
a hybrid in which joint and several liability applies only to wrongdoers
above a certain threshold, while the liability of wrongdoers below that
threshold will be limited to their proportionate share.
Different
jurisdictions have explored a range of thresholds for separating principal
wrongdoers from lesser wrongdoers,57 usually through establishing a
percentage beyond which joint and several liability will apply (such as
20 or 30 per
cent). However, such percentage thresholds have their
problems. Determining the appropriate threshold is likely to be arbitrary,
and
defendants have incentives to make extensive arguments in efforts to
demonstrate that their liability does not meet the
threshold. This could
lead to more complicated litigation, and the court’s determination
will also be to some extent
arbitrary.58 The plaintiff will become
concerned with the level of liability allocated to each defendant, as they
stand to lose if liable defendants
with “deep pockets” fall below
the relevant threshold.
As with any model that includes elements
of proportionate liability, the result could be the plaintiff failing to
recover
fully. If the only available liable defendant is below the
threshold for joint and several liability the plaintiff will
be unable
to recover more than the amount allocated to that liable defendant.
While we appreciate the potential harshness
of joint and several liability
for parties who have a relatively low share of responsibility, this
particular response
raises questions about the degree of risk that can fairly
be shifted to the plaintiff. As
57 Also called “minor”, “secondary” or “peripheral” wrongdoers.
58 Courts will struggle to make fine distinctions as to whether particular defendants are 19.5 per cent, 20.5 per cent or 21 per cent liable – if
20 per cent is the threshold percentage.
28 Law Commission Report
with full proportionate liability, there is no accepted basis for
establishing how much risk can fairly be transferred in this
way.
Proportionate liability for contributory negligence
4.5
4.6
4.7
Under the current law, if the liable defendants can successfully
demonstrate contributory negligence on the part of the
plaintiff, the
court will reduce the damages recoverable by the amount of the
plaintiff’s contribution to their
own loss. However, the liable
defendants still remain jointly and severally liable for the balance. A
range of jurisdictions
have adopted the partial reform of switching to
proportionate liability in cases where the plaintiff’s negligence is
found
to be a partial cause of the loss. This option was considered in the
Law Commission’s earlier review,59 but was not
recommended.
There are several reasons not to favour this option.
Failure to adequately protect one’s own position is different
from
carelessness that causes loss to another. Between the negligent
plaintiff and the negligent defendant, the negligent
defendant will generally
be considered the more culpable party. Importantly, the plaintiff has not
breached a legal duty to the
defendant(s)
– unlike the defendant(s)
to the plaintiff. The plaintiff’s “share” of the loss will
already have been
considered by the court in assessing the total damages,
ensuring that no defendant will be liable for damage attributable
to the
plaintiff. In contrast, allowing proportionate liability in this situation
involves a significant double discount. The
plaintiff must give up any
proportion of the damages attributed to their own fault. In addition, the
plaintiff is at risk for
the whole of any uncollected share. There is no
principled basis for such a risk allocation. The plaintiff cannot be
conceptualised
as just another defendant – the interest of plaintiff
and defendant are fundamentally opposed. In any case, the plaintiff
is not
treated like other defendants. The plaintiff would become the only
“defendant” responsible for meeting uncollected
shares.
This
reform would also impose very high stakes for the finding that a plaintiff is
contributorily negligent, which could influence
litigation and settlement
behaviour and may have unforeseen or perverse effects, such as unjustifiable
pressure on plaintiffs
to settle, to avoid what may be only a remote risk of
being held negligent.
Proportionate caps on liability
4.8
4.9
4.10
Some hybrid models impose an upper limit on the liability of a party held
jointly and severally liable. Two main forms of capped
joint and several
liability are used in a number of jurisdictions within the United States, both
of which are discussed below.
A cap can be used to modify
proportionate liability so that the plaintiff will always receive at least
a particular percentage
of the total damage, generally set at around 50
per cent. Wrongdoers who are allocated more than 50 per cent
would be liable only for their proportionate share, while wrongdoers
allocated less than this could be required to pay
up to half the total loss
if the plaintiff could not otherwise recover. The plaintiff would bear
the remaining risk of
other wrongdoers being unable to pay. The obvious
critique of this option is that a party with a smaller allocated share
may have to pay more than their allocated share, while a party with a much
larger allocated share will not.
Alternatively, a cap could be based on a
multiplier of the liability allocated. This could provide that no party will
be liable
for more than double their allocated share (or triple their
allocated share under a model that is more generous to plaintiffs).
This
option can provide some relief for liable defendants, without placing the
whole burden of the uncollectable share on plaintiffs.
For example, if the
only remaining solvent wrongdoer was allocated 20 per cent liability,
a
59 Law Commission Apportionment of Civil Liability (NZLC R47,
1998).
Liability of Multiple Defendants 29
CHAPTER 4: Partial reform options
multiplier of two would require that wrongdoer to pay 40 per cent,
leaving the plaintiff to bear 60 per cent. This option
is clearly a
compromise between joint and several liability and proportionate
liability, and as such can be seen as a pragmatic
response to the issue,
rather than resting on firm legal principle.
Court-supervised reallocation
4.11
4.12
4.13
This possible reform is one of the more cohesive partial reform options, but
also one of the more complex. It has been suggested by
two different law reform
commissions in Canada,60 but was not adopted in either case. Under
this option, the court would determine the relative share of each liable
defendant
in the same proceedings as determining the plaintiff’s claim.
Each liable defendant would initially be liable to pay their
allocated
share. If the plaintiff was unable to collect from each liable defendant
after a certain period of time, the court
would “reallocate”
the uncollected share among available liable defendants. In this way, the
plaintiff would receive
full recovery eventually, but would not be able to
demand full payment from a single liable defendant at the outset.
The
disadvantages of this option include that the plaintiff’s ability to
recover damages promptly may be defeated; it also
may require the
plaintiff to be involved in a second set of court proceedings. Full
payment to the plaintiff would
be further delayed, and the plaintiff may
incur additional costs in going back to court that they cannot recover from
liable
defendants. Conversely, it could be argued that plaintiffs already
face significant difficulties enforcing judgment,
and this option is
likely to simplify matters through providing greater clarity about the
balance of liability between defendants.
The chief difficulty with this
option is that it is unclear how it would work in practice, as it has not been
tested in other jurisdictions.
While it would be a minor change to the rule of
joint and several liability and is not a form of proportionate liability, it
would
be a reasonably significant change to the rules of civil procedure and
the enforcement of judgments. There may also be consequential
impacts on the
law of contribution.
Proportionate liability for some sectors only
4.14
4.15
Some submitters from the building sector suggested that the
prevalence of leaky building litigation justifies a move
to proportionate
liability in that sector, regardless of changes in other sectors. This
reflects the reform trend in Australia,
where the building sector switched to
proportionate liability before other sectors did.
In our Issues Paper, we
suggested that a move to proportionate liability for construction claims would
not be viable in the absence
of a comprehensive warranty scheme. We remain
of this view. We also reject in principle the suggestion that
proportionate
liability is justified by virtue of the leaky building crisis.
There is no convincing argument that proportionate liability
would encourage
better building standards sufficient to justify the clearly detrimental effect
its introduction would have on
owners of leaky homes. We also note that
this review does not provide an opportunity for retrospective changes that
would
prejudice parties who have already suffered loss.
Liability caps for some sectors only
4.16
A similar option is to adopt liability caps in some sectors only. For
example, some professionals argue that their industries are
well regulated
and the risk of professional negligence claims
60 Ontario Law Reform Commission and Ontario Ministry of the Attorney
General Report on contribution among wrongdoers and contributory negligence
(Vancouver, Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, Toronto, 1988); Law
Reform Commission of British Columbia “Report
on Shared
Liability” (LRC88, 1986).
30 Law Commission Report
drives up costs without promoting responsible activity. This option
allows a more targeted response to perceived problems.
In particular, it
may be appropriate for sectors or classes of defendants where insurance is not
readily available because of the
high risk of liability. Potential defendants
are more likely to be able to obtain insurance cover if a cap confirms the
maximum
potential liability for a particular class of claim. We explore the
merits of caps for two groups, building consent authorities
and auditors, in
Chapters 7 and 8.
Proportionate liability for some types of damage
only
4.17
4.18
Some jurisdictions have adopted proportionate liability for some types of
damage but not others. In the United States it is
particularly common for
joint and several liability to be limited to “objectively
quantifiable” loss, but not
matters such as emotional distress.
Conversely, in Australia joint and several liability is retained for
personal injury
cases but not for cases of property damage or economic
loss. Proportionate liability may also not apply there to some
causes of
action, such as a simple breach of contract, not involving negligence.
In
a New Zealand context this reform option is less pertinent, as personal
injury is addressed by the comprehensive and no-fault
accident compensation
scheme. The potential reach of civil liability is already much narrower, and
there is no obvious category
of damage that is clearly different to others,
such that it might require only proportionate liability.
Proportionate liability for some causes of action
4.19
4.20
A similar reform is to adopt proportionate liability for some causes
of action only, such as tortious claims in negligence
but not claims
for breach of fiduciary or statutory duty. In practice, this is a very
common feature of systems that
have shifted to proportionate liability. New
Zealand is in a different situation, with causes of action, like types of
damage,
already circumscribed by ACC.
The net result is that civil
claims in New Zealand are already generally limited to property, or
economic or financial
loss claims. This helps to explain why calls for
“tort law reform” have never gained prominence here compared,
for example, to Australia. Significant benefits are unlikely to be gained
from attempting to re-categorise how some causes
of action may be brought,
or what damages may be awarded. These are in any case issues that relate to
primary liability rules
(such as when should a person be liable for
negligence) rather than secondary rules as to how multiple liable parties will
be treated, if found liable.
ASSESSMENT OF PARTIAL REFORM OPTIONS
4.21
4.22
Partial reform options enable a more targeted response to issues
identified for particular classes of defendants, particular industries,
or
particular fact patterns within civil litigation. This offers a more nuanced
approach than a move to proportionate liability,
while potentially addressing
some of the more significant criticisms of the status quo. However, there
are some pitfalls
of partial reform options – including the risk that
these can result in unprincipled or incoherent law that is complicated
to
apply.
In later chapters we suggest some partial reform measures
that we consider will improve the status quo in a targeted and
workable
manner. In developing these proposals, we have sought to create principled
reform that will achieve intended outcomes
without causing unforeseen
consequences. We have drawn from a number of the partial reform options
explored in this chapter,
but we do not suggest any of the more common
“hybrid” models. Our reform proposals are more narrowly focussed,
addressing
particular areas in which we can locate a strong case for
reform.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 31
CHAPTER 4: Partial reform options
4.23
We have considered the effects on settlement and litigation strategy,
and the potential for defendants or plaintiffs to
“game the
system”. We have also sought to retain aspects of the common law
that are particularly important,
such as the autonomy of the plaintiff.
Most importantly, partial reform options were assessed for their
implications for
equity as between plaintiffs and defendants. We have
deliberately rejected reform options that merely shift the outcome
in
favour of defendants; rather, we consider that to justify change there
must be benefits across the board, either in
terms of economic efficiency or
the conduct of litigation.
RECOMMENDATION
R2 A hybrid rule, incorporating some elements of proportionality into joint
and several liability, should not be introduced into
the liability regime for
multiple
defendants.
32 Law Commission Report
Chapter 5
Relief for a minor defendant
INTRODUCTION
5.1
5.2
5.3
We recommended in Chapter 3 that joint and several liability remain
the rule in all cases involving the liability of
multiple defendants for
the same damage. Each defendant who is held liable for a proven loss should
remain liable to compensate
the plaintiff for the whole of the damage or
loss. However, they may claim a contribution or indemnity from other
wrongdoers
who are liable for the same loss.61 We are convinced
that joint and several liability best supports the principle that a blameless
party wronged by another should
be compensated for their loss. Because of
the availability of contribution, the end result will also often be
broadly fair
and proportionate among the liable parties.
Accepting that
joint and several liability should apply in all cases, there will be a small
number of cases where the actual liability
a defendant is required to pay is
not matched by their share of responsibility as determined by the court. We
have concluded that
in the interests of fairness there should be provision
for an exception that allows that defendant some relief. Such
a
concession should only be made after a judge has carefully assessed the nature
of the obligation that the defendant has breached
and its connection to the
total loss suffered by the plaintiff. The court would also need to be
satisfied that there
would still be an effective remedy for the plaintiff.
We do not envisage this concession being granted lightly, but we believe
it
to be an essential brake on the potential injustice from a too thorough-going
application of the normal rule. Otherwise, there
will be a small number of
cases where a defendant who is properly held liable nevertheless bears a much
lower proportion of fault
or responsibility compared to other liable
defendants. If such a liable defendant is forced to pay all or most of the
plaintiff’s
damages because other defendants are unavailable, it may be
difficult to describe that result as fair or just.
Differences in
levels of responsibility among wrongdoers are fact-specific and are likely
to involve a variety of considerations.
These are matters that judges
must assess when dealing with contribution, and apportionment of
responsibility more generally.
However, there will be a small number of
liable defendants who may be described in a common sense way as minor
contributors
to the plaintiff’s loss, or “minor
defendants”. Occasionally, a defendant may be only just above the
relevant
threshold for liability, but once held liable they are subject to
joint and several liability in the normal way. Liable
defendants in
this category, whom we term “minor defendants”,62
may consider that joint and several liability applies particularly
harshly to them, at least when other defendants are missing
or unable to
pay.
61 Or, in most cases, who would have been liable if sued by the plaintiff in time: Law Reform Act 1936, s 17(1)(c). The exception is the 10 year longstop provisions from the Building Acts 1991 and 2004, which have been held to exclude contribution claims more than 10 years after the relevant event, in addition to the primary exclusion of liability to a plaintiff: Perpetual Trust Ltd v Mainzeal Property and Construction Ltd [2012] NZHC 3404 at [47].
62 In Law Commission Review of Joint and Several Liability (NZLC IP32,
2012) [Issues Paper] we used alternative names for this potential
class of defendants, including “peripheral wrongdoer”. We have
opted for
“minor defendant” in this Report, because we consider
it best characterises the truly minor responsibility that such
a defendant
would need to demonstrate to be considered for any partial relief from their
legal liability. “Minor” is
a simpler concept, and can be more
naturally and readily applied to the circumstances, contribution and
responsibility of a particular
liable party.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 33
CHAPTER 5: Relief for a minor defendant
5.4
In Chapter 4 we discussed and rejected the option of providing a percentage threshold below which parties would be proportionately liable and above which joint and several liability would apply. In this chapter we recommend a reform that would retain joint and several liability for all liable defendants but also address the circumstances of the small subset of truly minor defendants. We propose that legislation set out a statutory definition and a regime for minor defendants, to allow courts and tribunals to grant relief to a minor defendant from the full effects of joint and several liability in cases where that is necessary to prevent injustice.
THE CASE FOR REFORM
5.5
5.6
5.7
In the course of this review, many consultation participants argued
that joint and several liability is unfair because
it could result in a
very minor party bearing the full amount of a loss. It was difficult to
assess whether this is predominantly
a theoretical problem or fear, or whether
such results occur reasonably often in practice. This is because while
judgments
are public documents, their enforcement is generally undertaken by
and between the parties, so that who actually pays and
how much is not
normally a matter of public record.63 However, we can reasonably
conceive that there will be cases in which the loss may be largely due to the
wrongdoing of other defendants
and may significantly exceed the amount of
loss that can be reasonably attributed to the actions of the minor defendant
alone.64
The minor defendant issue may be more readily
apparent in the usual situation where the contribution of each liable
defendant
is determined at the same time as judgment is given in the main
proceeding. For example, in a leaky building claim a judge
gives judgment
against a number of defendants for the whole loss, making them all liable
defendants. The judge then determines
how responsibility should be
apportioned between liable defendants and makes contribution orders
accordingly. One of the liable
defendants, a subcontractor, is adjudged to
have a five per cent share of responsibility and gets the benefit of a
contribution
order for any amount he pays above that level. Under joint and
several liability the plaintiff is not concerned with the contribution
order
and is entitled to demand the full amount of damages from the
subcontractor. If the subcontractor pays as demanded he
can then use the
contribution order to seek contributions from the other liable defendants,
subject to their respective maximum
obligations to contribute. If one or
more of the other liable defendants is insolvent or has absconded, the
subcontractor
may be left bearing the cost of most or even all the
plaintiff’s damages.
This example confirms that the main
justification to allow relief in such a situation is to redress or reduce
unfairness or injustice
that clearly could otherwise arise, in extreme cases.
This is not so much because of a weakness in the joint and several liability
rule, but rather is an attempt to address an inherent problem in application
that will arise regardless of which liability
rule applies. Under joint
and several liability, a clearly unfair or unjust result is most likely where
most, or all but one,
liable defendants are insolvent, but there is a solvent
minor defendant who can be made to pay the whole of the damages.65
The solvent minor defendant in such a situation may be required to pay
many times more than their share of responsibility
indicates – for
instance 19 times their own share of responsibility, if they were adjudged to
have a 5 per cent share
of responsibility. We expect that this result would
generally be regarded as unfair or
63 Cases disposed of by settlement – which almost certainly include the significant majority of disputes – are even less open to scrutiny, unless some element of the settlement is later brought to court.
64 For example, in a defamation claim (putting aside pure defamation law), the major defendants might be the journalist and the newspaper publisher, while minor defendants might include individuals who posted the article on Facebook. Subcontractors in building and other industries are also likely to generate potential minor defendants – but always depending on the facts in each case.
65 The corresponding situation with proportionate liability is also where
most liable defendants are unavailable, with the difference
that the cost is
borne by the plaintiff.
34 Law Commission Report
5.8
5.9
unjust, depending on all the facts in a particular case, and some facility
is warranted to at least reduce the harshness or injustice
of the
result.
As a secondary consideration, the multiple defendant liability
rules ought to be seen to operate fairly. If there is a widespread
view that
an aspect of our civil litigation system is unfair then the integrity of the
system may be undermined. The submissions
we received confirm that views
continue be strongly divided, depending on whether the observer is
associated with or is
more likely to be a plaintiff or defendant.
Nevertheless, we accept that there is a concern, likely to continue among a
significant
number of litigants or potential litigants, regarding the
implications of joint and several liability for smaller defendants.
We also
accept that minor defendants exist and may suffer demonstrably excessive
liability in circumstances where the minor
defendant must pay close to or 100
per cent of a judgment, despite their responsibility for the plaintiff’s
damage being set
at a very small proportion, for example, five or ten per cent.
No doubt defendants may initially be overly inclined to see themselves
as
“minor defendants” – it may take some time for expectations
to be set by Court decisions. We nevertheless
consider that the overall system,
including joint and several liability as the central principle and rule, will
be better accepted
and function better if some limited scope to deal with hard
cases is introduced.
We stress that any discretion to reduce or remove
unfairness must be limited. Joint and several liability remains the general
rule,
and may only be departed from so far as is necessary to alleviate
the injustice, to the extent this is possible, while
still providing a
fair and effective remedy for the plaintiff. In the next section we discuss
how a minor defendant regime
ought to operate, including the protection of
the plaintiff interest and the necessary balancing of fairness to plaintiff
and
liable defendant.
DETAIL OF PROPOSED REFORM
5.10
5.11
5.12
5.13
A provision to allow discretionary relief to a minor party must be simple,
and avoid replacing one injustice with another. The
objective should be to
avoid unduly complicating existing litigation and to achieve results that
balance the interests
of plaintiffs as well as minor liable
defendants.
We have considered many options for how to provide relief
to a minor liable defendant. Our recommendation is to provide an additional
tool in statute to be applied by judges with regard to all the circumstances in
a particular case. The judge’s determination
will of a matter of fact,
but involving a substantial level of discretion. This will provide flexibility
and allow the application
of the law to progressively develop based on
decisions of the courts.
A judge’s decision in such a case will
inevitably involve an exercise of discretion. The discretion for relief should
be limited,
with discretion to depart from joint and several liability as little
as is necessary to avoid or reduce injustice. We expect that
exercise of the
discretion would typically apply to defendants who are at or just above the
threshold for being held liable.
Joint and several liability will
remain the norm in the great run of multiple defendant cases. The
provision for relief
of minor defendants should be a limited but
important exception to the normal rules. It will deal with those cases
where applying the normal rules to bring plaintiff recoveries as close as
possible to the damages awarded would lead to a clear
injustice or unfairness.
If a minor party would otherwise be left to pay the balance of damages left
unpaid by other, significantly
more blameworthy defendants, despite their
own minor responsibility and possibly marginal liability, it is appropriate
that
a court or tribunal be able to assess a fair result as between plaintiff
and the minor defendant.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 35
CHAPTER 5: Relief for a minor defendant
5.14
5.15
5.16
5.17
5.18
5.19
Any provision for relief should contain considerable hurdles for a
would-be minor defendant to overcome. Even where a minor
defendant has
limited or very limited responsibility for the relevant damage, they may
still fail to gain relief because they
do not satisfy all
requirements.
The minor defendant exception should be a general
provision, not limited to particular sectors and with no group or category of
defendant either automatically included or excluded. Minor defendants can
be expected to fall at the very bottom end
of liability and
comparative responsibility – they should not qualify as minor defendants
otherwise. However, there
should be no qualifying or disqualifying percentage
threshold, to avoid sterile arguments from counsel that a liable
defendant’s
share of responsibility falls “just below” or
“just above” it. The size or proportion of a liable
defendant’s responsibility is clearly highly relevant but is better
considered in the context of the particular facts including
where
applicable, a comparison or contrast with the responsibility of others. And,
even though a minor defendant is very
likely to have the smallest share or
responsibility, this should not be treated as a sufficient condition. Shares
of responsibility
will vary widely, and whether any defendant can be treated as
a minor defendant must always be determined after assessing all relevant
factors.
Any relief provision should address the relatively frequent
case where a party becomes jointly and severally liable for some
damage
after performing or failing to perform some inspection, verification, audit
or other similar independent service in
relation to a transaction or event
involving other principal parties. This party is often referred to as a
“gatekeeper”
because of the way in which they can help
prevent damage to others if they carry out their functions competently
and
refuse to support anything falling below required standards. Negligence
by a gatekeeper can readily contribute to or cause
damage to a
prospective plaintiff and the gatekeeper is likely to be liable to the
plaintiff, usually along with a main party
or parties whose misconduct the
gatekeeper failed to pick up.
A gatekeeper’s share of
responsibility based on simple negligence is likely to be considerably less than
that of the principal
actor.66 This raises the question of whether
such gatekeepers ought to be at risk of joint and several liability. This is
particularly where
the gatekeeper is performing a socially useful function and
should not be discouraged from doing so. An argument can be made
that
gatekeepers, as a class, should either be treated as minor defendants to
restrict their liability, or have their liability
restricted even further, for
instance by restricting their liability to only their proportion of
responsibility (proportionate liability).
We do not recommend this
approach. Gatekeepers are important but their roles are also very diverse.
Gatekeeper responsibilities
are often conferred or developed by detailed
statutory schemes, and may be subject to different common law or
statutory
rules regarding their potential liability. The extent to which
particular schemes need to be reinforced by gatekeeper liability
is mainly an
issue for particular schemes, as applied by the courts. It would not be
helpful to propose that all gatekeepers,
however defined, should be subject to
a different liability regime from other defendants.
In any case, we doubt
that gatekeepers will necessarily or regularly incur a low enough share of
responsibility to qualify as
minor defendants. Auditors, building consent
authorities, valuers and solicitors may have a lesser share of
responsibility
in an impugned transaction than a principal actor. However,
the gatekeeper’s actions may be a strong “but for”
cause to
the extent that it is difficult to say their responsibility is minor or
limited. The relief provision should therefore
require that each case must
be examined on its merits, with no presumption that certain behaviours or
responsibilities are
likely to fall in the “minor” range. As
discussed above,
66 If a gatekeeper engaged in reckless conduct or knowingly participated
in, for instance, a fraud, then their share of responsibility
will likely be
much higher and the question of minor defendant or not will be unlikely to
arise.
36 Law Commission Report
5.20
5.21
5.22
5.23
5.24
bare percentages of responsibility will not be enough. A gatekeeper may be
allocated a relatively low share of responsibility, for
example because there
are several “main” defendants to share responsibility around.
However, it is still necessary
to determine whether the gatekeeper’s
responsibility can be characterised as minor, taking into account all
relevant
factors. Such factors should include but not be limited to their
responsibilities and level of responsibility, the nature of
their negligence or
other fault and the consequences of their actions.
Some gatekeepers may
act because they are under a statutory obligation to do so. If they incur
liability as a result of acting,
there should again be no presumption that
their responsibility is less only because it was compelled. After all the
relevant
statute will have required reasonable and lawful action. If any
general allowance is to be made for performing a statutory
duty, it would be
better for this to be done through the enabling statute imposing those
obligations or through the courts
settling the primary issue of whether the
party should be held liable. The fact that a particular defendant was obliged to
act in
a given set of circumstance may of course be a factor for a court to
weigh along with all others when deciding whether the liable
defendant is a
minor defendant or not.
We have considered whether or how the nature of
the relationship between plaintiff and minor defendant should affect the
availability
of relief. In at least one situation we consider it must be
determinative. If a valid contract exists between the parties,
it will
be necessary in all cases to establish whether the parties have either
expressly or impliedly agreed to exclude
the possibility of minor defendant
relief. If so, then the parties’ bargain should apply. We see no
reason to prevent
parties agreeing to contract out of the minor defendant
provisions, and there is similarly no case for a court to re-examine
any
decision of the parties on this matter. There is no consumer protection issue
in this situation. It is unlikely that a consumer
will be seeking minor
defendant status or relief, especially if the counterparty is a commercial
party.
If the parties have a contract but it is silent on the minor
defendant exception, it will still be necessary for the court
to consider
the terms of the contract to determine whether or how they might impact on
the availability of relief. Even if
a contract makes no mention of minor
defendants or does not deal with limitations of liability at all, it would still
be open to
the court to consider the nature of the obligations between the
parties, and whether they are consistent with one of them being
relieved from
some liability as a minor defendant.
The relief provision for a minor
defendant should not be a hybrid in the sense discussed in Chapter 4. No
element of proportionate
liability should be involved. The minor defendant
remains subject to joint and several liability. Rather, this provision
is
a judicial discretion to alleviate the effect of joint and several
liability to a level that the court holds is
just in all the
circumstances, and to plaintiff and defendant. We do not recommend that the
minor defendant’s liability
be limited to their proportionate share of
responsibility, because on too many occasions this would be unfair to
the
plaintiff and prevent the plaintiff receiving an effective recovery.
The court should be allowed to set a ceiling
for recovery from a minor
defendant that achieves fairness between minor defendant and plaintiff.
This requires that
the plaintiff will still recover a much more
substantial portion of their loss than the minor defendant’s share
of
responsibility, but the minor defendant is relieved from having to pay 100 per
cent of the total award. We propose that a court
or tribunal satisfy itself,
when determining the level of any relief, that the result achieves reasonable
fairness as between
plaintiff and minor defendant.
We consider limits
must be put on any minor defendant relief for the protection of plaintiffs. We
would not support any relief
to a minor defendant if the result would be
that the plaintiff would not have an effective remedy. The court or tribunal
should
be required to verify this point
Liability of Multiple Defendants 37
CHAPTER 5: Relief for a minor defendant
5.25
5.26
before determining any application. Clearly, “an effective
remedy” does not mean the plaintiff must recover in full;
there are
many reasons why a plaintiff may not recover in full despite a sealed
judgment in their favour. To provide some
reasonable relief to a minor
defendant it may be necessary in some cases to reduce the plaintiff’s
recovery by some proportion.
Subject to the important qualification in the next
paragraph, such a reduction should be mainly for the courts to assess on the
circumstances
before them.
Setting some “floor” for the
plaintiff’s recovery will help to ensure an effective remedy. We
recommend
that no relief to a minor defendant should be allowed to
reduce the plaintiff’s recovery below 50 per cent of the
judgment
damages, because it would be difficult or impossible to categorise any lower
amount as an effective remedy. We stress
that this floor is only a
minimum to protect the plaintiff – it should not be treated as the
target by minor defendants.
Depending on what the plaintiff has managed to
recover from other liable defendants, there should be situations where the
plaintiff’s remedy can remain well above this floor, but with some
substantial relief for the minor defendant.
We expect that successful
applications for relief as a minor defendant will be infrequent. We envisage
that applications will
only be favourably considered when a considerable
portion of damages is still outstanding, and the minor defendant (or
minor
defendants if the court approves more than one), is the only viable judgment
debtor. The minor defendant route should not
normally be available if the
plaintiff is making demand, but the minor defendant would rather not pay
before other debtors
who are still available. The supplementary
contribution provision that we recommend in Chapter 6 may be appropriate
if
a minor defendant can and does pay some part of an insolvent
party’s uncollected share and wishes to recover
proportionately from
other solvent parties.
Procedure
5.27
5.28
5.29
Applications and other steps relating to the draft provision should be
dealt with in accordance with existing court rules. The
necessary procedural
steps should be simple, and kept consistent with normal court rules for
analogous situations.67
We anticipate that an application to
be considered a minor defendant, or a minor defendant if liable, would be
brought by the
relevant party during the trial and would be determined in
the main judgment (if not already determined), or whenever applications
for
contribution are dealt with. If it is clear by the end of trial that a potential
minor defendant will be “last man standing”
and will inevitably be
responsible for uncollected shares as well as their own responsibility, then the
court might determine the
relief issue at the end of the trial as well.
However, in many or most cases it is unlikely to be clear until sometime
later
whether a minor defendant is exposed to uncollected shares, for how
much, and whether they face that prospect alone or with others.
A minor
defendant seeking relief should therefore make an application, supported by
affidavit evidence under normal rules,
if and when they wish to seek
relief as a minor defendant. The plaintiff will have the main interest in
opposing such an application,
but remaining defendants who can be located should
also be served.
If for some reason the party concerned did not apply
to be declared a minor defendant at the trial, then they should not
be
prevented from applying later, but the application should be subject to
the court granting leave. The best evidence of
a party’s responsibility
to the plaintiff
67 It may be that the Rules Committee might prefer to include a
reference to the procedure for seeking relief as a minor
defendant in the
High Court Rules, where convenient. Or the Rules Committee may prefer to
make a short rule to expressly take
account of the proposed provision and
clarify how it will be treated and applied within the High Court Rules.
In our
view the emphasis should be on conforming to existing procedures, and
avoiding creating new processes. We expect that for most
issues adapting rules
for interlocutory procedures should achieve the desired result.
38 Law Commission Report
5.30
5.31
is likely to be available at trial, and a party applying later could
reasonably expect to have to justify the delay and perhaps
bear some costs
consequences.
Finality of proceedings is important, which means the
ability to apply for relief should not be open-ended. The relative ease
or
difficulty in collecting judgment debts varies considerably, and it may take
some time for a minor defendant to have confirmed
that they will have
to pay uncollected portions. Nevertheless, we think it is reasonable that any
application for relief
be made within 12 months of the date of judgment in the
matter, with a court or tribunal able to enlarge time, where the interests
of
justice require.
A provision to allow relief for minor defendants must
be prospective in the usual way. This could be in respect of acts or
omissions
that occur after the date any legislation comes into force, or from a
date six or 12 months after that. The choice of “acts
or
omissions” not “causes of action” is important. It avoids
difficulties with latent defect cases, where
the relevant conduct might
occur before new provisions come into force but the cause of action is
delayed until discovery
of damage, potentially well after new provisions
apply.
Draft provision
5.32
Draft wording for a proposed provision is included in Appendix A.
RECOMMENDATIONS
R3 While joint and several liability remains the rule, a court or
tribunal should have discretion to make orders mitigating
the full
application of joint and several liability in respect of a defendant who
has only a minor and limited responsibility
for the plaintiff’s loss, if
the court or tribunal is satisfied that requiring the minor defendant to pay the
full or part
of an amount unpaid by another defendant would be unduly harsh and
unjust.
R4 The relief for a minor defendant should be provided for in a new s 17A of the Law Reform
Act 1936 or another appropriate statute, if that Act is
consolidated.
R5 The new provision should include terms to ensure that:
(1) (2)
(3)
A minor defendant means a party held liable in a civil action but
which or whom the court or tribunal determines bears only
a minor and
limited responsibility for the plaintiff’s loss.
A liable
party is not a minor defendant only because:
. the
party’s share of responsibility falls below a particular percentage or
proportion,
or is less than any other party’s share of responsibility, or
both;
. the party’s involvement in relevant
events was largely or completely restricted to
providing verification, certification or other independent services
required to facilitate the events or elements of
them; or
.
the party was under a statutory obligation to provide
relevant services or take
relevant actions.
The minor defendant may apply to the court or
tribunal to be relieved from the full effect of their joint and several
liability
to the plaintiff, except that an application made more than 12
months after the relevant judgment was sealed is subject to leave
to apply being
granted.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 39
CHAPTER 5: Relief for a minor defendant
(4)
(5)
In granting relief, the court or tribunal must be satisfied
that:
. the minor defendant, together with any other
minor defendant approved by the
court, is or are the only parties available to pay the judgment sum or any
remaining unpaid portion of the judgment sum;
. requiring the
minor defendant to pay all or some part of the unpaid amount would
be unduly harsh and unjust; and
. the
circumstances provide justification for some relief from joint and several
liability.
When granting any relief under this section the
court or tribunal must ensure that:
. the plaintiff will still
receive an effective remedy;
. the result achieves reasonable
fairness between plaintiff and minor defendant; and
.
the relief does not reduce the plaintiff’s potential recovery
from all liable parties to
less than half the damages they were awarded in respect of the relevant damage.
40 Law Commission Report
Chapter 6
Supplementary contribution
INTRODUCTION
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5
It is common in civil litigation for the courts to determine
applications for contribution or indemnity in the same judgment
as liability,
although a claim for contribution, indemnity or both may still be brought in
separate, later proceedings. Either
way, as explained in Chapter 2,68
contribution is determined as between defendants, and does not affect the
plaintiff’s rights to recover 100 per cent from
any liable defendant or
to enforce judgment against any of them. This enhances plaintiff autonomy and
choice. If one liable defendant
is better or more immediately able to pay than
other liable defendants, the plaintiff can seek the full judgment debt from
that
defendant and leave it to them to seek contribution orders, if necessary,
and then enforce them against other liable parties.
Attaining a fairer
spread of costs among the liable defendants is achieved by the contributions
they are entitled to or must
pay each other.
While joint and several
liability provides that any liable defendant can be required to pay the full
loss to the plaintiff,
the rules of contribution mean that other liable
defendants cannot be required to pay another liable defendant more than their
share or contribution, as determined by the court, even if the other
defendant has been required to pay the plaintiff in full
or pay a share left
unpaid by an absent liable defendant. As discussed in Chapter 369
this does not cause problems where all defendants are judgment-worthy
and are able to satisfy the contribution order against
them. However, a
disproportionate burden or effect from joint and several liability may still
fall on a defendant who pays all or
most of the judgment sum even when there
are at least some solvent defendants available to make contribution. Unjust
results
can ensue when the defendants include a mixture of solvent parties and
unavailable parties.
The problem typically arises where a plaintiff
makes a demand against one defendant and is paid in full by that
defendant;
but recoveries from other defendants, in accordance with
respective contribution orders, do not cover the uncollected share
of an
insolvent or missing defendant. The defendant paying the plaintiff has
effectively already paid and met that
uncollected share to the
plaintiff but has no means to recover or distribute the cost of the
uncollected share.
Such a result inevitably disrupts the broadly
proportionate allocation of responsibility that may otherwise be achieved
through
orders for contribution. The issue here is not that a party faces
extra costs as a result of an uncollected share – under
joint and
several liability it is expected that other defendants must pay uncollected
shares. Rather, we seek to avoid
an arbitrary, unfair and unnecessarily
imbalanced result among defendants. The objective is that when an
uncollected share
needs to be made good, all solvent defendants can be made
to contribute in proportion to their share of responsibility to that
additional
share.
This problem can be addressed without curtailing the
plaintiff’s freedom to enforce judgment as they see fit. The
appropriate
mechanism is to allow a liable party that has been required by
the plaintiff to “overpay” to apply for orders
for
“supplementary contribution” from other
68 At [2.5].
69 At [3.9].
Liability of Multiple Defendants 41
CHAPTER 6: Supplementary contribution
remaining and solvent liable parties. Each liable party should contribute to the cost of the unmet share in proportion to their share of responsibility compared to other remaining liable defendants, including the applicant but excluding any missing party. In this chapter we discuss the rationale for this reform, and how it can be adopted.
RATIONALE FOR REFORM
6.6
6.7
6.8
6.9
Under the current enforcement rules, a plaintiff may seek the full
judgment sum from any defendant held liable, as soon as
judgment has been
sealed.70 Liable defendants’ claims against each other are
addressed through contribution orders. Liable defendants who
are
well- resourced, or insured against liability, or both, have expressed
the concern that in a case where one
(or more) liable defendants are
unavailable but two (or more) liable defendants are available, it is
unfair that one
liable defendant can be made to pay the full amount of the
uncollectable share. Such a result is not required to achieve the
goal of
full compensation for the plaintiff, although it is a possible and relatively
likely result from the operation of joint
and several liability and
contribution.
This situation is best illustrated through an
example:
The court finds that D1, D2, and D3 are jointly and severally liable for the plaintiff’s loss of $100,000. The court assesses contribution orders at the same time as giving judgment and determines the relative liability of the defendants as follows:
D1 – 20 per cent - able to recover up to $30,000 in contribution from D2 and up to $50,000 from D3. D2 – 30 per cent - able to recover up to $20,000 in contribution from D1 and up to $50,000 from D3. D3 – 50 per cent - able to recover up to $20,000 in contribution from D1 and up to $30,000 from D2. The plaintiff is aware that D1 is insured up to $100,000. The plaintiff therefore seeks the full judgment
sum from D1. D1 then seeks to recover from D3, who has assets but is uninsured, and D2. D1
successfully recovers from D3 but is unable to recover from D2, who has
absconded.
Even though D1 was adjudged to have the smallest share of responsibility, it
ends up bearing the same cost as D3 ($50,000), who had
a much greater
responsibility. D3 does not bear any of the unrecoverable share caused by the
absence of D2. This is not fair result
as between D1 and D3.
As this
example demonstrates, the current rules can have unfair results for some
defendants, even when they are not required
to bear the full loss. Other
defendants liable for the same damage effectively share in a corresponding
windfall. The plaintiff
is theoretically unaffected, other than benefitting
from the normal operation of joint and several liability. The defendant’s
inability to seek recovery from others is not required to achieve the goal of
full compensation for the plaintiff. The result occurs
only because current
rules governing contribution do not extend to this situation, despite it being
highly analogous to the traditional
operation of contribution.
The
question we addressed is whether it is possible to remove or mitigate the
potential for injustice between defendants,
but without introducing any
prejudice to plaintiffs. The problem could be mitigated by, for example,
requiring plaintiffs to
initially sue defendants only up to the contribution
levels awarded by a court; or by allowing a liable party to delay payment while
they pursue contributions from others. Apart from being cumbersome and
difficult to administer, such solutions would significantly
affect at least
the operation of joint and several liability, if not the underlying rule and
principle. The frequent result would
be increased difficulties and
costs
70 Unless the judgment allows time for payment, before enforcement may
commence: High Court Rules, r 17.3(3).
42 Law Commission Report
6.10
for plaintiffs and most likely fewer plaintiffs achieving full recovery
of judgment sums owed to them.
We recommend instead making an
adjustment to the rules of contribution to address the potential unfairness
between defendants.
This is a modest reform that will benefit all solvent
defendants, including well-resourced and insured defendants, and produce
more equitable or proportionate distribution of uncollected shares, without
involving any change in plaintiffs’ rights
and freedom to enforce
judgment. The basic rules of contribution, expressed in section
17 of the
Law Reform Act 1936 and in equity, will remain unchanged and operate as now.
The new rule we propose will only operate
beyond the range of existing rules and
in the limited case of a defendant having paid beyond their required
contribution, due to
an uncollected share.
CHANGES TO RULES OF CONTRIBUTION
6.11
6.12
6.13
6.14
6.15
Under this proposal, plaintiffs would retain the right to seek the full
amount from a single liable defendant from the outset. But
if one liable
defendant has paid more than their court-ordered contribution after all
rights to contribution have been exhausted,
that defendant may apply for
supplementary contribution orders to spread the “overpayment”
between itself and
other solvent defendants (and also third parties that the
court has previously held liable to contribute to one or more defendants).
Such subsequent orders would only allocate responsibility for the
unallocated share – there would be no impact on
or revisiting of any
original orders for contribution. The court should normally allocate
liability to make supplementary contributions
in proportions that reflect the
relative shares of responsibility among the remaining solvent parties
– the first-called
defendant and the other defendants from whom
supplementary contribution is sought.
In the example above, the
plaintiff would still be able to claim $100,000 from D1 immediately after
judgment. Unlike the status
quo, once it is established that D2 is
unavailable, D1 would be able to return to court for an order that D3 pay an
additional
$21,400 in supplementary contribution – their proportionate
share of the $30,000 that has proved to be uncollectable from
D2.71
(D1 can already seek up to $50,000 contribution without a further court
order, under the original awards).
This achieves a more just end result
between solvent defendants without requiring the plaintiff to pursue separate
judgments or
return to court at any stage. The outcome will be more certain and
predictable for defendants, and less arbitrary for those with
deep pockets.
It retains all advantages of joint and several liability for plaintiffs but
deals more fairly with the issues
that arise when one or more defendants are
unable to pay.
The result should be more predictable outcomes for
defendants and so better prospects for resolving respective obligations
by
agreement. If a well-resourced defendant has the option and grounds to apply
for a subsequent contribution order, this may be
enough to encourage another
solvent defendant to pay or negotiate regarding their share, without incurring
further costs.
The proposal can be implemented by an addition
to the existing provisions governing contribution in section 17 of
the Law
Reform Act 1936. A draft provision was developed in the proposed Civil
Liability and Contribution Bill contained in the
Law Commission’s 1998
Report: Apportionment of Civil Liability.72 The provision
includes a one-year limitation for applications,
71 The uncollected share is $30,000. D1 and D3’s comparative liability, ignoring the missing D2, is for 2/7ths and 5/7ths respectively, based on the original contribution orders. So D3 must still reimburse D1 the $50,000 maximum contribution originally ordered, plus 5/7ths of $30,000 or
$21,400 (slightly rounded). D1 still must bear 2/7ths of the uncollected share, ($8,600) but this is better than paying the whole $30,000, and is proportionate.
72 Law Commission Apportionment of Civil Liability (NZLC R47,
1998) at [7.26].
Liability of Multiple Defendants 43
CHAPTER 6: Supplementary contribution
6.16
which is sensible and consistent with what we suggest for applications from minor defendants.73
We recommend below that the 1998 draft be used as the basis for a suitable amendment to the
1936 Act. A copy of the draft Bill is included.74
Such a
provision will be effective in cases of contribution and supplementary
contribution governed by the statutory regime.
The change will not automatically
apply to matters involving equitable contribution, unless a more detailed
reform is undertaken
of contribution and related matters, such as that which
was recommended in Apportionment of Civil Liability.75 We
trust that courts called upon to consider a suitable case applying
equitable rules may adopt a similar approach as the proposed
change,
preserving as it does the essence of contribution.
RECOMMENDATIONS
R6 The rules of contribution should be extended to allow a defendant
required to pay all or part of a share of liability
left unpaid by
another defendant, to apply for supplementary contribution from other
solvent defendants or judgment
debtors. A court or tribunal ordering
supplementary contribution should do so by ordering contributions
proportionate to
the shares of responsibility of each solvent party, including
the applicant.
R7 The additional rule should be modelled on proposed section 17 of a draft Civil Liability and Contribution Bill appended to the Law Commission’s Report, Apportionment of Civil Liability, and added, with all necessary modifications, to the existing provisions governing
contribution in section 17 of the Law Reform Act
1936.
73 At [5.30].
74 Refer to Appendix B.
75 Law Commission, above n 72. Despite developments in other areas since
1998 and as s 17 demonstrates, the reforms proposed
to contribution, the law
regarding contributory negligence and related issues in Apportionment
of Civil Liability are still apposite and worthy of serious
consideration. The objects of this current reference can be achieved through
introduction
of the amendments to the Law Reform Act 1936 that we have
recommended. However those amendments would be more coherent and achieve
wider
reform at little or no cost if they were included in a Bill modelled on that
presented in Apportionment of Civil Liability.
44 Law Commission Report
Chapter 7
The building sector: room for a special
case?
INTRODUCTION
7.1
7.2
7.3
Despite our recommendation to retain joint and several liability, we
considered whether a proportionate scheme could
be justified in any
sectors. Proportionate liability could be considered where the normal
operation of joint and several
liability in a particular sector causes such
significant distortions or injustice that some intervention is justified, or
the characteristics
of a sector mean that a proportionate regime could result in
enhanced sector outcomes and still provide adequate protections for
plaintiffs.
The building sector, and more particularly the residential
building sector, is the main sector for such consideration primarily because
the
impact of the leaky homes crisis on this sector was the principal catalyst for
this reference to the Law Commission, and
the majority of submissions to
the Commission came from participants in this sector.76 The large
majority of building sector submitters report what they perceive as
substantial unfairness to solvent defendants in
leaky home cases. We have
not found evidence that building sector defendants, other than local
authorities, have had
to meet uncollected shares in a way that is clearly
disproportionate to defendants in other sectors. But we do accept
that
local authorities have had their cost of liability approximately doubled
by having to meet uncollected shares in
leaky home matters, adding several
hundred million dollars to local authority liability
costs.77
We therefore agree that it is necessary to consider
the practicality of introducing proportionality in the home building sector,
to determine whether it could reduce liability for uncollected shares
without creating similar or greater unfairness to
plaintiffs. The
possibility is worth considering, not only because of the potential or actual
impact of joint and several
liability on some defendants, but also because
specific, targeted schemes have previously been attempted in the construction
sector
in neighbouring
jurisdictions.78
76 Provided local authorities are counted as building sector participants because of their statutory responsibilities as building consent authorities,
28 of the 49 submissions received were from building sector participants.
77 Price Waterhouse Coopers Weathertightness - Estimating the Cost (Department of Building and Housing, Wellington, 2009) at 62 estimates actual costs to local authorities at 45 per cent of adjudicated costs, compared to a typical share of responsibility in the 20 to 30 per cent range. The Report also finds that the local authority cost share increases, to an average of up to 65 per cent, for larger claims involving the total recladding of a leaky home. Auckland Council, the local authority bearing up to two thirds of local authority liabilities for leaky homes, has made provision in its financial reports for up to $45 million for claims yet to be resolved, which is in addition to substantial amounts already paid out: see Auckland City Council Annual Report (2011/2012) vol 3 at 93.
78 The most closely relevant examples come from Australia in the
1990s, including New South Wales and Victoria: Environmental Planning and
Assessment Act 1979 (NSW), s 109ZJ, which was added by the Environmental
Planning and Assessment Amendment Act 1997 (NSW); Building Act 1993 (Vic) ss
129–131. The New South Wales and Victorian provisions were repealed in
2002 when general proportionate liability statutes were enacted, but
building sector-specific schemes remain in force in South Australia and the
federal territories
despite the enactment of general legislation covering the
balance of each jurisdiction: Developments Act 1993 (SA), s 72; and Building Act
2004 (ACT), s 141.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 45
CHAPTER 7: The building sector: room for a special case?
PROPORTIONATE LIABILITY FOR THE BUILDING SECTOR?
The case for a separate scheme
7.4
7.5
7.6
7.7
The strongest argument for a proportionate scheme for the building sector is
that it is the only sector in which there is convincing
evidence of joint
and several liability forcing some sector defendants (namely local
authorities) to meet uncollected shares.79 While we have not found
or received evidence of significant numbers of non-local authority defendants
regularly having to meet
such shares, we have had anecdotal evidence
from some building professional groups.80
The leaky homes
crisis has demonstrated that major liability events can occur and may have
large impacts on some solvent
defendants when they do. No one can reliably
predict whether the sector will face an equivalent event to leaky homes in the
future
but we accept that such a possibility cannot be discounted, even after
allowing for the major structural changes that have been
and are being made to
building regulations.
The lead taken by Australia in the 1990s is
instructive. Between 1993 and 1995 three states and both federal territories
introduced
proportionate liability for building certifiers and building
practitioners.81 The relevant statutes compelled practitioners to
take out suitable insurance, the requirements for which could be prescribed by
regulation. These initiatives were attempts to stem the perceived rising
costs of insurance, and minimise cost increases in
a sector subject to
fluctuating demand and occasional shocks.
The replacement of these
sector schemes by jurisdiction-wide proportionate liability from 2002 makes it
impossible to tell what
effects or success building sector proportionality
actually had. However, proportionality was attempted first in the building
sector in Australia, and a trans- Tasman harmonisation argument suggests that
a similar approach could be taken in New
Zealand.82
The Australian approaches to building sector
schemes tend to confirm that proportionate liability should not be
introduced
without appropriate protection for plaintiffs. In Australia this
came from compulsory insurance and state-mandated building guarantee
or
warranty schemes. We recognised in our Issues Paper that we could not recommend
proportionate liability for the sector unless
it was accompanied by a suitable
compulsory warranty or guarantee system.83 We considered that the
two changes would have to be introduced as a package, and that remains our
view. We noted that a warranty
or guarantee scheme could require express
government backing and possibly management. If owners and plaintiffs were
made
to accept the lowered protection offered by proportionate liability they
could be expected to demand the best possible assurance
they can get, from
any warranty scheme. The inherent difficulty in establishing and
maintaining a suitable warranty scheme
is therefore another factor in the
balance, when considering the potential problems with an industry proportionate
liability scheme.
The case against a separate scheme
7.8
It is not clear that missing or insolvent liable defendants are so
disruptive across the building sector that they justify the
introduction of
proportionate liability. There is no evidence that solvent liable defendants
being required to meet part or
all of uncollectable shares is a
systemic
79 Price Waterhouse Coopers, above n 77.
80 For example, Submission of the New Zealand Institute of Architects on Law Commission Review of Joint and Several Liability (NZLC IP32,
2012).
81 Above n 78.
82 This argument was made by some submitters who already operate in Australian or trans-Tasman markets. See the submissions of Fletcher
Building and Beca Group on Issues Paper.
83 Law Commission Review of Joint and Several Liability (NZLC
IP32, 2012) [Issues Paper] at [9.20].
46 Law Commission Report
7.9
7.10
7.11
7.12
problem, beyond local authority participants. The additional costs borne
by local authorities are likely to have had material
effects on larger local
authority finances, and on ratepayers.84
These costs have come
from one major liability crisis and have fallen mainly on local authorities and
their ratepayers, and the impact
does not justify altering the liability
rule for all building industry participants.85
Calls
for proportionate liability have remained strong from other sector
participants, despite the lack of concrete evidence
of costs from joint and
several liability. We suspect that this is because joint and several
liability is often blamed for
results it does not necessarily cause, and
proportionate liability is expected to bring changes that it would not.
Participants
may expect proportionate liability to take away a liability
that they think is not “really” theirs, when the
participants’ real issue is with a primary liability rule that holds
them liable for the plaintiff’s damage in the
first place.
The
allocation of liability and costs between head contractor-builders and
subcontractors demonstrates this point. A traditional
head contractor-builder
is likely to be liable in contract, with or without statutory warranties, to the
purchaser and subsequent
owners for any relevant damage they have caused.
This liability should normally include damage caused by
subcontractors
they engaged and controlled. Their primary liability arises
from a breach of contract or of a statutory warranty, not
from being
held jointly and severally liable with negligent subcontractors. A liable
subcontractor may be jointly and severally
liable for the same damage if it is
impossible to divide responsibility for the damage. However, if a
subcontractor’s misconduct
was limited and the effects can be
differentiated, the subcontractor may not be jointly and severally liable for
all damage
but only for the divisible damage to the relevant place or part
where they caused damage.
Introducing proportionate liability would not
help the builder. A proportionate liability regime would not enable the
builder
to automatically pass on portions of liability to a variety of
subcontractors. The builder would remain liable for what
they have
contracted to deliver and what the statutory warranties require – a
building that is built with reasonable
care and skill and is fit for its
identified purpose, for example. Such liability forms part of the
builder’s primary
liability and would not be overridden by a secondary
rule of proportionate liability.
Not every residential building contract
involves a head contractor who takes on responsibility for all work, including
that done
by subcontractors.86 Situations do occur where, for
example, an owner takes on a labour-only carpenter and the owner then
selects, engages and supervises
subcontractors. A court or tribunal dealing
with such contracts would have to determine on the facts what each party
was
responsible for and on what terms, before it could determine the
primary liability, if any, of each party.87 We expect that in
the great majority of cases where building contractors are held to bear
substantial liability, this will
be because of their primary obligations
arising in contract, from statute or both. Compared to local authorities, head
contractor-builders
have a relatively low likelihood of having to meet an
uncollected share, and if they do it will usually be for a much smaller
additional share. We conclude that there is no
84 The pattern of realised and anticipated liabilities from weathertightness claims indicates that liability tends to be disproportionately concentrated in large urban areas with substantial rates of home building. By contrast, one small rural local authority commented in its submission that it had never had a leaky home claim. It is reasonable to infer that future local authority liability from building consent matters will continue to be concentrated in Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and perhaps Tauranga/Bay of Plenty.
85 There may however be a case for more targeted relief to local authorities, which we discuss below at [7.33]–[7.36].
86 The Building Amendment Act 2013 anticipates the orthodox building contractor with employees, subcontractors or both. However the Act clearly leaves arrangements as between contractor and subcontractor, if any, to those parties: new pt 4A of the Building Act 2013 (not yet in force).
87 It is possible that the carpenter could then be held jointly and
severally liable with one or more subcontractors for some or
all damage,
depending on what damage they have caused or contributed to, and the
extent to which damage is divisible.
Or if the carpenter is found not to
be responsible for the work of subcontractors and the carpenter’s own work
is competent,
he or she may have no liability at all.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 47
CHAPTER 7: The building sector: room for a special case?
7.13
need to adjust the secondary liability rule to ensure that results are
just for non-local authority parties.
We are therefore not convinced
that there is a case for proportionate liability across the building sector.
Even if the case were
stronger, it would still depend on establishing an
effective building warranty scheme. In contrast, we do consider that an
effective
warranty or guarantee scheme is highly desirable whether or not
proportionate liability is introduced. We discuss this point at paragraph
[7.46]
below.
THE IMPACT OF REGULATORY CHANGE
7.14
Our conclusion, against a separate proportionate liability scheme for
the building sector, is bolstered by some specific
legislative steps that
have been taken to help resolve the leaky homes crisis, as well as more general
changes and improvements
to building legislation and regulations over the past
decade. It is likely that such changes are lessening or will lessen the impact
of joint and several liability, or liability generally, on local
authorities.
The Financial Assistance Package
7.15
7.16
7.17
7.18
The Financial Assistance Package for leaky homes was introduced in
2011. The Financial Assistance Package means that
remaining owners of
leaky homes have an additional option for securing assistance. If
qualifying homeowners select the Financial
Assistance Package the effective
liability burden on local authorities is reduced and rendered more certain as
a result.
The Financial Assistance Package was effected through the
Weathertight Homes Resolution
Services (Financial Assistance Package) Amendment Act 2011, which came into force on
23 July 2011. Its central provisions constitute a new Part 1A of
the principal Act.88 The legislation’s purpose is stated
to be:89
[T]o facilitate the repair of leaky buildings by providing for certain
matters relating to the provision of a package of financial
assistance
measures to qualifying claimants.
The focus of the Financial
Assistance Package is on assisting owners of leaky homes. The package
grew out of widespread
concern and complaints that the process of
resolving leaky home cases was taking too long, and it was too
difficult
and expensive to get funds out of builders, local authorities
and others who could not or would not pay, or pay promptly.
The
innovation under the Financial Assistance Package was that central
government agreed to contribute 25 per cent of
the owner’s assessed
costs, and if there was a potential local authority defendant, it could, and
usually does, participate
and do the same.90 The homeowner
therefore receives, usually, 50 per cent of their assessed costs –
quickly and without incurring litigation
expenses – and can still pursue
other liable parties.
As well as the intended benefits to
homeowners, the Financial Assistance Package has significant benefits
for local
authorities, depending on the rate of take-up. Local authorities
know that their liability to any Financial Assistance
Package claimant
will be limited to
25 per cent of the claimant’s independently
assessed costs, which is about the average or median local authority
“share”
for cases that proceed to adjudication. The Financial
Assistance Package may therefore significantly reduce the risk local
authorities
face from uncollected shares. Like homeowners, participating
authorities also save on litigation costs. Given that a
reasonable
88 Weathertight Homes Resolution Services Act 2006.
89 Section 125A.
90 The Crown and the local authority receive immunity from being sued by
the participating homeowner. The scheme therefore seeks
settlement of potential
claims against central and local government agencies, while leaving owners
free to pursue other parties.
48 Law Commission Report
proportion of homeowners appear to be exploring or accepting the Financial
Assistance Package option, the impact from joint and
several liability on
local authorities may not be as severe, for remaining cases, as it apparently
has been for cases resolved
before the Financial Assistance Package was
introduced.91 The Financial Assistance Package may reduce local
authorities’ leaky homes costs for later claims, through to at least
July 2016, when access for new claims will expire.92
Building consent authority liability after the Building Act
2004
7.19
7.20
After the one-off effect from the Financial Assistance Package,
building consent authority liabilities should decline.
The cumulative
effect of the Building Act 2004; particular amendments to that Act in
the Building Act Amendment Act 2012 (most not yet in force); and the further
amendments passed at the end of 2013,93 should allow local
authorities to better manage and therefore reduce their potential liability
for residential buildings.
For the first time, the 2012 Amendment Act also
describes various parties’ responsibilities for commercial building
work.
This is a useful step, and we explain below94 why we consider
the Act should go one step further and expressly describe the limit or extent
of responsibility of building consent
authorities for commercial consents, as
has already been done for amendments dealing with new “simple”
and “low
risk” consents.95
Local authority
liability for negligence when acting as building consent authority for
residential buildings is well established
in New Zealand.96
Liability was originally confirmed in case law, in part based on
international precedents, some of which were later overturned
overseas.97
However, subsequent cases at Privy Council and,
more recently, Supreme Court level, have confirmed the New Zealand
position
that such liability in respect of residential buildings is taken
to be consistent with and support the scheme of the Building
Act 1991.98
Most recently, the Supreme Court held in Spencer on Byron
that no distinction should be drawn between residential and commercial
building work, meaning local authorities may be held
liable for negligence
in respect of commercial consents as well.99 The leading judgment
for the majority, given by Chambers J concluded:100
We accept that other courts and judges could reasonably evaluate the policy
factors differently from us. We have not been satisfied,
however, that it
would be just and reasonable to restrict the duty of care [owed by councils] to
residential buildings.
91 See Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment “Weathertight Homes Resolution Service (WHRS) claims statistics” (February 2014)
<http://www.dbh.govt.nz> . The figures suggest that over half of current claims are pursuing the Financial Assistance Package track for resolution. Note that some caution may be required as these figures also include cases where no local authority was involved and the claimant is seeking only the central government contribution. Some such cases involved private certifiers of large multi-unit developments, where each individual homeowner will be counted as one case in the statistics. Thus the figure for cases seeking the Financial Assistance Package may overstate the number of cases where local authorities contribute the fixed 25 per cent share.
92 Section 125D of the Weathertight Homes Resolution Services Act 2006 provides that: “An application under section 125C must be made no later than the expiry of the period of 5 years after the date of commencement of this section.” The deadline for applications is therefore 22 July
2016. The deadline is an incentive for any “tail” of leaky home cases to be resolved quickly, as is the normal 10 year longstop limitation on suit, for building cases.
93 Building Amendment Act 2013.
94 At [7.28]–[7.30].
95 See Building Act 2004, s 58I (for simple consents); and s 58l (for low risk consents). Neither provision is as yet in force.
96 See: Invercargill City Council v Hamlin [1996] 1 NZLR 513 (PC); Invercargill City Council v Hamlin [1994] 3 NZLR 513 (CA); North Shore City
Council v Body Corporate 188529 [2010] NZSC 158, [2011] 2 NZLR 289 [Sunset Terraces].
97 Dutton v Bognor Regis Urban District Council [1972] 1 QB 373; Anns v Merton London Borough Council [1977] UKHL 4; [1978] AC 728 (HL); Murphy v Brentwood
District Council [1991] UKHL 2; [1991] 1 AC 398 (HL).
98 Sunset Terraces, above n 96.
99 Body Corporate No 207624 v North Shore City Council [2012] NZSC 83, [2013] 2 NZLR 297, referred to as Spencer on Byron, after the apartment building the case was concerned with.
100 At [214].
Liability of Multiple Defendants 49
CHAPTER 7: The building sector: room for a special case?
7.21
Spencer on Byron was expressly restricted to cases where the
Building Act 1991 applies. There were indications that the Court might well
reach
a similar conclusion, should a Building Act
2004 case come before
the Court, but the Court consciously forbore from analysing the
point.101
With respect, we consider that when the Court hears a fully argued
Building Act 2004 case, it may instead consider it has grounds to hold that
local authorities should have at most only restricted liability in
commercial
building cases, either from 2005 when the Building Act 2004 came into force,
or once the amendments enacted in 2012 and 2013 are in
force.102
Implications of the Building Act 2004
7.22
7.23
7.24
7.25
An important reason given by the Court in Spencer on Byron for
concluding that no distinction ought to be made between building regulatory
work for commercial and residential projects,
was that the 1991 Act could
have made such a distinction, but did not.103 That position began
to change when the 2004 Act was passed. In section 4 of the 2004 Act,
Parliament for the first time directed
various statutory decision-makers,
including territorial authorities, to take into account a number of detailed
principles “when
dealing with any matter relating to one or more
household units”.104 Section 4 contains a number of other
principles that apply equally and do not differentiate between residential and
commercial
buildings, but only “household units” are selected for
special attention in this way.105
The 2004 Act also
introduced specific contract-based protections for purchasers of household
units, and subsequent owners. Sections
396 and 397 implied a number of
standard warranties into contracts for building work relating to household
units or the
sale of such units by a developer.106
Unsurprisingly, there are no similar or equivalent provisions in
respect of non- residential building contracts.
There is therefore a
reasonably strong inference under the Building Act 2004 that residential or
household units, or buildings containing them, are different in character
from other buildings, or their
owners and users are deserving of direct
statutory protections, whereas parties to commercial building contracts can
be
expected to adopt self-help. The Act acknowledges that different
principles may apply to residential and commercial building
work and the
parties involved or affected by such work.
These differences may not
be enough by themselves to justify different outcomes on liability for
residential and commercial
cases, especially regarding building consent
authority liability. It might still be expected that Parliament would deal
with the matter more expressly if that had been the intention. Weight might
be given to the fact that sections 397 to 399
define and
101 At [217] per Chambers J. Even the lone dissent, while disagreeing that local authorities should be liable in commercial building cases, predicted a certain inevitability to eventual liability under the 2004 Act, if liability under the 1991 Act was allowed: at [308] per William Young J.
102 See Building Amendment Act 2012, s 17, in particular the new sections to the principal Act ss 52A to 52Y, to come into force at a date to be determined.
103 Spencer on Byron, above n 99, at [103]–[106] per Chambers J.
104 Section 4(2)(a). The principles include: “the role that household units play in the lives of the people who use them...”.
105 The definition of household unit is reasonably straightforward; section 7 provides that:
household unit—
(a) means a building or group of buildings, or part of a building or group of buildings, that is— (i) used, or intended to be used, only or mainly for residential purposes; and
(ii) occupied, or intended to be occupied, exclusively as the home or residence of not more than 1 household; but
(b) does not include a hostel, boarding house, or other specialised
accommodation
106 The warranties set out in s 397 are an orthodox and extensive set
of consumer protections, including requirements that
contracts must be
performed competently, according to specifications and plans and in accordance
with the building consent;
with reasonable care and skill and on time, or
within a reasonable time; and so that the household unit will be suitable for
occupation
on completion; and if any particular purpose has been stated in the
contract, the unit will be reasonably fit for that purpose
or be of such a
nature and quality that it might reasonably be expected to be fit for the
purpose: s 397(a)–397(f). Section
398(1) extends the right to sue on
the warranties to subsequent owners “as if they were parties to the
contract”.
Section 399 prevents a person giving away any of the
warranties by contract, unless the provision relates to a breach that is
already known to the person, or ought to be.
50 Law Commission Report
amend the relationship between the immediate contractual parties (and subsequent owners), and have nothing at all to say about local authorities. And it can be argued that little should be read into these express liability provisions dealing only with the residential and household sector, because clear consumer protection provisions such as these will typically apply only in “consumer” situations. Nevertheless, the scheme of the Building Act 2004 exhibits a much clearer and stronger residential consumer protection focus, in addition to the overall health and safety focus of the statute. This additional focus and emphasis is in contrast to the Building Act
1991, and it is reasonable to infer that consumer householders and
commercial parties need not necessarily receive identical treatment
as to
whether building consent authorities may be liable to either group.
The Building Amendment Act 2012: express differentiation of
responsibilities
7.26
Whatever the conclusion on the Building Act 2004, Parliament has subsequently
made changes that tend to confirm that residential and commercial consents
and claims can be distinguished
for liability purposes. This has mainly
been achieved through a suite of related provisions introduced in the
Building
Amendment Act 2012 (the 2012 Amendment Act). The
2012
Amendment Act sets out to differentiate and describe the
responsibilities of the full range of building industry participants,
and
expressly describes the extent of building consent authority responsibilities
in two out of three new classes of consent
that will eventually come into
force. Key provisions include:
. A re-worked purpose
section that includes an additional purpose “to promote
the
accountability of owners, designers, builders, and building consent
authorities who have responsibilities for ensuring that
building work complies
with the building code”.107
. New
descriptive outlines of responsibilities for owners, owner-builders,
designers, builders
and building consent authorities.108
.
The framework for a new system of risk-based
consenting.109
. Express provisions
defining the building consent authority’s extent of responsibility,
and
what it is not required to do, for the two new classes of residential
consents: low risk and simple consents. For example, new
section 52I
provides:
52I Responsibility of building consent authority in relation to building
work carried out under low-risk building consent
(1)
A building consent authority that has issued a low-risk building
consent—
(a)
is not required to inspect the building work in question at any time
before the issue of a consent completion certificate
for that building
work; and
107 Building Amendment Act 2012, s 3(b).
108 Building Amendment Act 2012, s 14A. The outlines are stated to be for guidance only, and must give way to particular sections of the Act.
This highlights a new effort to differentiate between respective responsibilities of the participants, with consequential effects on accountability. Consistent with a differentiated system of consenting that is to come into force, the responsibility of the building consent authority depends on what type of building work or consent the authority is asked to deal with:
14F Responsibilities of building consent authority
A building consent authority is responsible for—
(a) checking, in accordance with the requirements of this Act for each type of building consent, to ensure that— (i) an application for a building consent complies with the building code:
(ii) building work has been carried out in accordance with the building
consent for that work: (b) issuing building consents and
certificates in
accordance with the requirements of this Act.
109 With owners to be able, once the system is in force, to apply
for a low risk consent; simple consent; the current,
general type of
consent now called a “standard consent”; or a new, commercial
consent, according to the complexity,
risk and type of the work to be done:
Building Amendment Act 2012, s 17; new sections to the principal Act, ss 41 and
52B.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 51
CHAPTER 7: The building sector: room for a special case?
(b)
incurs no liability to any person by reason only of not checking the plans
and specifications accompanying the application or
not inspecting the
building work in question at any time before the issue of a consent completion
certificate.
(2)
Nothing in subsection (1) limits or affects the provisions of
sections 90 or 222.
. New provisions for “commercial consents” in new sections 52O to 52Y. The new procedure
places primary responsibility for achieving a safe, building code-compliant
building on the owner or their agent. Before applying
for a commercial
consent, the owner must obtain approval of a risk profile from the building
consent authority, as well
as a quality assurance system for the building
work. The consent authority must check that the system complies with
requirements
in regulations, and provide for appropriate supervision,
testing, inspection and third party review. The authority
can compel
information from the owner, for instance on the operation and results of the
quality assurance system. The authority
may, but is not compelled to,
inspect the building work. The strong inference is that the owner should
provide for all
necessary checks in the quality system, which should
produce verifiable data for the authority. The authority’s power of
inspection nonetheless remains as a valuable sanction and incentive to
compliance.
7.27
7.28
7.29
None of the above changes relate directly to joint and several
liability. Nor do they amount to exclusions of liability.
They
nevertheless provide statutory indications to local authorities regarding the
potential extent of their responsibilities.
Local authorities may choose to take
such indications into account as they plan and manage their building consent
responsibilities,
with a view to minimising their future liability in
negligence. The statements regarding the extent of building consent
authority
responsibilities for each of the new residential consent options may
well be relied on by individual building consent authorities
to confirm that
their responsibility is limited – although whether limited
responsibility automatically translates to limited
liability will still be a
matter for the courts. For activities that continue to provide
opportunity for liability, the
clearer definitions should at least allow
authorities to develop systems and internal checks to minimise breaches of
required standards.
Presently no equivalent to section 52I exists for
commercial consents. The current provisions do not contain a description of
the extent of building consent authorities’ responsibilities for
commercial building work. This is probably because
the 2012 Amendment
Act received the royal assent on 12 March 2012, well before the decision in
Spencer on Byron.110 At the time the
2012 Amendment Act
was passed, consent authorities were generally considered to have no
liability for negligence in respect
of building consents for commercial
projects. This position had been confirmed by a line of Court of Appeal
authorities, which
were however overturned in Spencer on
Byron.111
There is therefore no express
“responsibility” section for commercial consents. The extent and
limits of local authorities’
involvement and responsibility for commercial
consents is relatively clear from the commercial consent provisions that are
included.
However, to avoid confusion we recommend that a
“responsibility” section, equivalent to sections 52I and 52L
should
be added to achieve better clarity. Such a section should confirm the
allocations of responsibilities described in sections
52O to 52Y. The
provisions confirm that a building consent authority’s responsibility
in respect of commercial consents
is to ensure that consents are not
approved without an appropriate and regulations-compliant risk profile and
quality assurance
system, and that the authority must satisfy itself on
reasonable grounds that the approved quality
110 Judgment for Spencer on Byron was given on 11 October 2012.
111 Te Mata Properties Ltd v Hastings District Council [2008] NZCA 446, [2009] 1 NZLR 460; Queenstown Lakes District Council v Charterhall
Trustees Ltd [2009] NZCA 374, [2009] 3 NZLR 786; and Invercargill
City Council v Hamlin [1994] 3 NZLR 513 (CA).
52 Law Commission Report
7.30
assurance system is being or has been complied with. Although clearly
a matter still to be resolved by the courts,
especially after
Spencer on Byron, building consent authorities may then reasonably
argue that they should not be liable for damage connected with a commercial
building consent issued under the Building Act 2004 unless they have failed
to carry out their specific, limited role.
We considered whether there
was a simpler, more direct approach. Given the likelihood of only very
restricted liability
for commercial consents governed by sections 52O to
52Y, and the policy of the 2004 Act to make the correct party or
parties accountable, we considered whether it would be appropriate to
recommend an amendment to section 392 of the Act,
to exclude building
consent authority liability in commercial consent cases. Such a provision
could achieve rather more directly
what a “responsibility” section
might also achieve, but only by implication. However, we concluded that,
whatever
the merits, excluding local authority liability for commercial
consents is beyond the scope of this reference. We therefore recommend
the
clarificatory amendment to define responsibilities, but make no
recommendation on excluding liability.
The Building Amendment Act 2013: more emphasis on protection of
residential consumers
7.31
7.32
The Building Amendment Act 2013 does not deal directly with the
responsibilities of building consent authorities. It does, however,
continue
to develop the express consumer protection provisions for residential
building work, begun by sections 396 to 399
of the 2004 Act, by
incorporating them into a new Part 4A of the Act, entitled “Consumer
rights and remedies in relation
to residential building work”.112
The new Part retains the existing implied warranties and:
.
introduces specific remedies for dealing with
breaches;
. requires a variety of disclosure
information to be provided before contracting and on
completion of works;
. prescribes, or
authorises regulations to prescribe, minimum requirements for
residential
building contracts;
. mandates a one-year
maintenance period for qualifying residential building work;113
and
. allows parties to contract out of
minimum standards outside the mandatory warranties, so
long as this is done in writing.114
Overall, the
amendments further expand consumer protection for residential homes, with a
strong emphasis on the building
contract between the owner or purchaser
and the builder, developer or on-seller as the principal instrument of
consumer
protection. This development further underlines the different
treatment of residential and commercial building under the Building Act
2004. This strengthens the inference that the two classes of work and the
regimes governing them are sufficiently different that the
liabilities of
building consent authorities for each can be distinguished – and that
this is what the scheme of the Act
envisages should
occur.
112 Building Amendment Bill (No 4) 2011 (322-2), cl 44.
113 Building Amendment Bill (No 4) 2011 (322-2), cl 44, new s 362A. Some provisions await thresholds to be set by regulation, along with other details.
114 Building Amendment Bill (No 4) 2011 (322-2), cl 44, new s
362G.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 53
CHAPTER 7: The building sector: room for a special case?
A CAP ON BUILDING CONSENT AUTHORITY LIABILITY
7.33
7.34
7.35
7.36
Despite our conclusion against proportionate liability, we recognise
that local authorities remain attractive potential
defendants because of
their resources, especially if another major liability event emerges. We
therefore considered whether local
authorities warrant some further protection
from excessive liability. Our conclusion is that such protection is
justified, and
we recommend caps on building consent authority liabilities to
provide it.
Local authorities have different characteristics to other
potential building sector defendants. They are not participants in
a market,
which they have entered voluntarily and with a view to profit. Rather,
they are second level regulators and supervisors
under the Building Act 2004
and any regulations made under it. They are themselves supervised by the
Chief Executive of the Ministry of Business,
Innovation and Employment
(MBIE). They can be regarded as gatekeepers, in that so long as they
perform their supervisory
role satisfactorily they will reduce the risk
of unsatisfactory building work and therefore of litigation and other
costs
to other market participants, including consumers.115 They
are not volunteers, unlike for example auditors and professional adviser
gatekeepers, who choose to provide audit, supervisory
or other
professional services in the expectation of making a profit. Building consent
authorities can and do charge fees for
work done.116 However,
any fee must be reasonable and based on the activities undertaken. While
an auditor can include in his or her
audit fee the cost of maintaining
professional indemnity cover, the building consent authority cannot add a
loading to its
consent fees to allow for the risk of later being held liable in
tort.
Local authorities also have limited opportunities to
insure against potential liabilities, particularly when such
liabilities
stem from a major event with potential for uncollected shares. At the beginning
of the leaky homes crisis, local authorities
had access to cover for
liabilities as building consent authorities through Riskpool, a pooled
insurance fund participated in
by most New Zealand local authorities. This was
a form of mutual self-insurance. The fund proved able to cope with claims for
the
first few years of the crisis. Once it became clear that claims would
continue to mount, especially from larger and northern
local authorities,
Riskpool acted to decline cover for all further leaky home claims from 2007. The
mutual self-insurance model
continues to function for more routine,
non-extraordinary risks. But the experience of leaky homes leaves especially
larger
or highly exposed local authorities with no effective insurance
options for major public liability risks.
The particular difficulty for
local authorities is that their status as potential deep pocket
defendants arises mainly
from their inability to withdraw from
providing services. Their ability to pay stems from ratepayers, not from
business
profits or insurance. A private sector gatekeeper, such as an
auditor of large commercial companies, has the option of withdrawing
service
from a particular customer or type of customer, or withdrawing their services
altogether, if the risk of damage to profits
or reputation or the
insurance risk is too great. The only effective options local authorities
have to reduce risk is to
invest more in training and systems to minimise the
risk of liability in the first place, or to manage the building consent
function as efficiently and competently as possible within available resources.
This turns the uncollected shares from leaky homes
into costs that will
ultimately be borne by all ratepayers, rather than a risk that falls only on
owners and purchasers of, mainly,
homes using monolithic cladding and related
techniques. While some might regard this result as a satisfactory, if not
ideal,
form of
115 There is an extensive international literature on the role and potential use of gatekeepers in “risky” markets or service areas. Effective use of gatekeepers as part of a regulatory scheme may reduce the need for parties to protect and pursue their own interests, including through frequent resort to litigation. The design of the regulatory scheme for building works in New Zealand is clearly outside our terms of reference. But it is relevant for our review that the role of local authorities in the building sector is the socially and economically useful one of gatekeeper.
116 Building Act 2004, s 219.
54 Law Commission Report
risk-spreading, the results are far too unpredictable, arbitrary and unfair
on ratepayers as a class to be readily supportable.
A cap on local authority liability
7.37
7.38
7.39
7.40
7.41
We are proposing appropriate caps on building consent authority liability,
to enable the unique situation of local authorities to
be addressed without
unduly preventing the plaintiffs from recovering, in most situations. There
should be little disruption
to other parties, because the cap is only on
building consent authority liability. Joint and several liability would
continue
to operate for all parties, including for local authorities, up to
the level of the cap. This means that local authorities can
and will have to
accept liability for part or all of uncollected shares, below the cap
level.
We do not expect that caps need be introduced immediately. The
Financial Assistance Package may help pull local authority liabilities
back
towards their share of responsibility,117 and the Building Act
2004 amendments may also enable authorities to better manage their
liability risk from normal or routine claims. Rather, we
have concluded
that a backstop cap ought to be placed on building consent authority
liability to mitigate any excessive
effects on local authorities that could
arise from a future major liability event, stemming from future acts or
omissions,
where local authorities are again very likely to constitute the
“last person standing”. The relevant cap should
apply to new
events, acts or omissions arising no earlier than the closure of the
Financial Assistance Package scheme
to new claims, on 23 July
2016.118
A critical choice is the level of the cap. A cap
needs to be set high enough so that the normal run of plaintiffs can expect
to recover full compensation even where they have to look to the local
authority for the share of another party, but not so
high that it would
offer authorities no effective relief in another major liability event.
The cap therefore needs to
reflect likely building and repair costs,
which should be drawn from the best available evidence. Also, as we are
dealing
with an unknown date in the future, any cap level should be subject
to regular review or updating, for example by application
of a suitable
building and construction-related price index.
For likely repair costs
we have started from the Report prepared in 2009 by Price Waterhouse Coopers
for the then Department of
Building and Housing (PWC Report).119
The PWC Report is a relatively recent and thorough review of
likely actual costs for repairs in a major weathertightness
liability
event involving thousands of claimants. We recognise that future liability
events, if they occur, may not relate
to weathertightness. However,
weathertightness cases typically involve extensive and expensive
repairs, and probably
provide the most comprehensive information we
have regarding potential costs of major repairs. We have in any case
cross-checked
against average costs of residential building consents, as
discussed below.
The PWC Report notes that repairs to individual units
in multi-unit developments tend to cost less than repairs to standalone
single
dwellings – although of course the cost for the whole development is
far higher. Given the increasing importance
of multi-unit developments in major
cities, we consider that we should have separate caps on liability for local
authority liability:
one for single, standalone dwellings; and one for units in
a multi-unit development. We also propose
117 The rate of uptake of the Financial Assistance Package is controversial, and the split between applicants who would or would not otherwise have a claim against a local authority is unclear. However, a recent information release from Auckland Council suggests at least a material impact on the most significantly affected region and Council, with the Council reporting payments to 144 homeowners under the Financial Assistance Package: Rob Stock “Auckland’s $300m leaky home bill” Sunday Star Times (New Zealand, 23 March 2014).
118 This means that existing leaky homes claims, and any potential claims where relevant acts or omissions have occurred but not yet been discovered will not be affected by the cap – they will dealt with under existing provisions, including the Financial Assistance Package where appropriate, up to its close-off date.
119 Price Waterhouse Coopers, above n 77.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 55
CHAPTER 7: The building sector: room for a special case?
7.42
7.43
7.44
7.45
an overall cap per development.120 This is to reflect that many
repairs in such a development will be common to or for the benefit of all
owners, and also to ensure
that there is still an effective cap on
liability, in very large developments.
Our recommendation is that the
liability for building consent authorities held liable in tort for acts and
omissions relating to
building consents and all related work be capped as
follows:
SINGLE DWELLING MULTI-UNIT DEVELOPMENT
Cap at $300,000 Cap at $150,000 per unit
Cap at $3 million per development
The caps should be inclusive of
all court or tribunal-awarded amounts, including interest and
costs.
The levels for individual homes and units have been set taking
into account the cost of a major repair – in leaky home
terms, a
full recladding of the property.121 We have also considered the
average costs of residential building consents over several months in 2013.
These averages indicate
an average of $360,000 to $380,000 per
consent.122 It should only be in the most serious or extreme cases
that a local authority is faced with meeting the whole of a claim, or up
to
the full value of a consent. The cap we propose is therefore set at a high
level and most claims involving a local authority
should be unaffected. We
expect, however, that the existence of the cap will provide the intended
backstop, should another major
liability event occur.
Unlike a scheme
for auditors, we do not recommend compulsory insurance – the deep pocket
credentials of local authorities
are well established. However, we anticipate
that having a cap will make it practical for local authorities to arrange
insurance
if they wish, either individually or mutually. Restoring the ability
of local authorities to better manage building consent-based
risks through
appropriate insurance is perhaps the strongest justification for introducing
the proposed caps.
THE CASE FOR A COMPREHENSIVE BUILDING WARRANTY SCHEME
7.46
We have already confirmed our view, which we first expressed in our
Issues Paper, that a comprehensive building warranty
or guarantee scheme
would be a prerequisite for any chance of proportionate liability being
introduced in the sector.123 A truly comprehensive scheme would
reduce stress on both plaintiffs and defendants, and help facilitate fair
outcomes when problems
or disputes arise. Having a scheme to back up
builders’ resources when claims arise would greatly reduce the risk
of plaintiffs not recovering all their losses under proportionate liability.
More importantly, a working guarantee or warranty
scheme should ensure that
plaintiffs are paid and liable defendants pay no more than their appropriate
share of responsibility,
compared to other liable defendants, regardless of
whether proportionate liability or joint and several liability applies.
The
multiple defendants rule should only need to be applied to a small
number
120 The extent of each “development” should be determined as a matter of fact in each case, based on the number of units consented in the resource consent, or for which building consent was granted, or were actually built.
121 The PWC Report evaluates a full re-clad for a standalone home at $300,000, and $120,000 for a unit in a multiunit dwelling: see Price
Waterhouse Coopers, above n 77 and Appendix E at 54. The PWC figures are expressed in 2008 $ terms.
122 We have not differentiated between single and multi-dwelling consents.
123 Issues Paper, above n 83, at [9.20]. We have used the
names “building guarantee scheme” and “building (or
builders’)
warranty scheme” essentially interchangeably in this
Report. We take it that in theory a “warranty” scheme
would be
provided by builders themselves, although most likely with external
financial and administrative support. In contrast,
a “guarantee
scheme” could be more external to the parties to the building contract,
with an insurer or other financial
institution providing guarantees subject to
scheme terms. Use of the term “warranty” may be confusing, given
the increasingly
important warranties implied by law in ss 396 to 399 of the
Building Act 2004, and soon to be brought within the new consumer protection
provisions in new pt 4A. However, if a workable scheme is to be drawn up, we
suspect that very little will depend on the name chosen, and this issue can
safely be left until detailed design is undertaken.
56 Law Commission Report
7.47
7.48
7.49
7.50
7.51
of cases, where for some reason a plaintiff could not be covered or
chooses not to be covered by the warranty
scheme.124
Introducing an effective scheme would be much
more likely to deal with perceived unfairness to defendants than a shift to
proportionate
liability. Plaintiffs could be made whole without the risk of
significant uncollected shares to be met by solvent liable
defendants.
We expect that a guarantee scheme with wide industry
coverage and support and adequate financial strength would shift
the
focus away from the very protracted debate over joint and several versus
proportionate liability, by rendering it unnecessary.
We therefore support the
development of a comprehensive125 guarantee or warranty scheme
to cover building work for residential dwellings, both single and multi-unit.
We recognise that
the design and implementation of such a scheme is a major
enterprise, and well beyond the scope of this Report. We are aware
that
MBIE has previously investigated and advised Ministers on such schemes and we
think this work should move forward as
a matter of priority. To assist, we
offer further high level comments on some design issues below.
The
scheme will require broad participation rates. The full benefits of a
warranty scheme will only be achieved with uptake approaching
100 per cent for
all new builds. A near-100 per cent participation rate would also help ensure
the scheme’s financial viability,
reduce litigation and should resolve
any remaining argument over joint and several liability. This raises the
question of whether
cover should be compulsory for all new homes and all
renovations above a given value.
Judging from take-up of the presently
available commercial products, a voluntary scheme may struggle to achieve
and maintain
a satisfactory participation level. The two main products
available have perhaps 50 per cent coverage of new standalone dwellings
but
neither product is designed for intending homeowners in multi-unit projects and
there is currently no alternative product
for this sub-sector. A
well-designed comprehensive scheme will hopefully be more attractive to
prospective owners of new
homes, particularly if an option is also available
to unit owners in multi-unit developments. Clearly a scheme will struggle in
the longer term if it cannot achieve uptake at or above around 80 per cent
and compulsion might have to be considered if that
were the situation. Our
preference is to avoid compulsion by having comprehensive availability of
approved warranty products
across all typical housing types.
We
suggest that builders should be required to offer a suitable warranty
product to each customer, who then decides
whether or not to purchase
the warranty. While we do not underestimate the challenges of running a
long-term, successful
scheme or schemes, we consider the benefits are
substantial enough to justify further work to develop, and if proved
feasible,
implement a comprehensive scheme or schemes in New
Zealand.
124 For instance because the plaintiff wished to build a house using approved but “risky” techniques, and the scheme excluded cover for such “non- standard” builds. At least in this situation the plaintiff would be on notice that they were accepting a level of risk and could consider whether to seek some assurance of solvency from their builder, or attempt to arrange insurance.
125 By “comprehensive” we do not necessarily mean
“compulsory”. A scheme in our view should at least
be available
to the normal range of purchasers of residential dwellings, and
comprehensive availability may be enough to
reduce the number of cases
affected by insolvent or unavailable liable parties. Comprehensive
availability could include a
compulsion on builders or developers to offer
an acceptable warranty product – but without any compulsion on the
purchaser
to accept.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 57
CHAPTER 7: The building sector: room for a special case?
RECOMMENDATIONS
R8
R9
R10
R11
Participants in the building sector should remain subject to the normal
application of joint and several liability.
The liability of building
consent authorities held liable in tort for acts and omissions relating to
building consents and all
related work should be capped.
. The cap should be set initially at: $300,000 for a single
dwelling; $150,000 per unit in a multi-unit development; and
$3 million
per multi-unit development, with such rates reviewed over time against
appropriate indices to ensure each cap
remains fair to potential plaintiffs
and authorities.
. Any cap should apply only to new claims
arising from acts or omissions that occur after
23 July 2016 (which is the date the Financial Assistance Package is due to
close to new claims).
The Building Act 2004 should be amended to clarify
the responsibility and potential liability of building consent authorities
for commercial building
consents by enacting a new section, section 52Z,
which defines the extent and limits of building consent authority
liability
for commercial consents, in similar form to sections 52I and 52L
(which deal with responsibilities for simple and low risk residential
consents,
respectively).
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
should continue to develop, for implementation if proved feasible,
a
comprehensive residential building guarantee scheme with options suitable for
both standalone and multi-unit
dwellings.
58 Law Commission Report
Chapter 8
Liability of professional service providers and
advisers
INTRODUCTION
8.1
8.2
8.3
8.4
Professional service providers and advisers are often considered to
be disproportionately affected by joint and several
liability. This
group includes accountants, financial advisers, investment advisers,
lawyers, engineers, surveyors
and potentially other professions that
provide consulting, advisory or other services, usually to other
businesses. The
distinguishing characteristic of membership is that they
provide professional advice in significant business projects or
enterprises but are not normally the prime mover, business leader
or head contractor.
Professional service providers and advisers are
likely to share some of the business risk associated with businesses
or projects in which they are engaged. They will have contractual
obligations to the principals who engage them, and may
be found to owe
obligations in tort (usually in negligence) to other parties contracting
with or otherwise affected by a
business venture. If they are held to be
liable to the business’s customers or other third parties, then it is
highly likely
their liability will be joint and several along with a
“principal” defendant, such as the business, project promoter
or
developer.
Professional service providers and advisers may be
vulnerable as defendants for two main reasons. Professionals, especially
if
well-established or operating on a significant scale, are likely to have
public liability or professional indemnity
insurance. In many cases this
may make them a logical target for plaintiffs, as possibly the only potential
defendant (or
the most easily accessible) likely to be able to pay a large
award. Secondly, this group is likely to regard reputation as an important
contributor to their business success. They therefore tend to have strong
incentives to settle a claim or threatened claim, even
at the cost of paying
over the odds, which in this context means paying more than their likely
share of responsibility. This
could lead to a preference to incur higher
professional indemnity premiums in future rather than face a protracted legal
battle
that may damage their reputation, even if they might ultimately be held
to be responsible for only a relatively small share of damage,
or realistically
may not be liable at all.
There is therefore a question as to whether
this group ought to be granted some relief from the risk or effects of
being pursued
as deep pocket defendants under joint and several liability. This
chapter first looks at this question for the broad class
of professional
service providers and advisers, without expressly including or excluding
particular professions. The chapter then
examines whether there is a special
case for auditors, especially auditors of “large” companies (which
will be known
as FMC reporting entities under new financial markets
legislation).126
126 Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013, s 451. The equivalent category under the existing Securities Act 1978 and Securities Markets Act 1988 is
“issuer”, whether as an issuer of debt, equity, participatory or
other securities, or as a public issuer, listed on an
exchange.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 59
CHAPTER 8: Liability of professional service providers and
advisers
CLOSER ECONOMIC RELATIONS WITH AUSTRALIA
8.5
8.6
8.7
8.8
8.9
8.10
8.11
In the Issues Paper, the Law Commission considered the impact of Closer
Economic Relations with Australia (CER) on the development
of the law in this
area.127 The intent of CER, which came into force in 1982, was to
bring about greater harmonisation of law and policy in New Zealand and
Australia, particularly as it relates to commercial matters.
Since CER
the two countries’ economies have been much more integrated. Certain
aspects of commercial activity have
been fully harmonised, particularly in
competition and corporation law. In recent years there has been an
increased impetus
to this work and, as the Issues Paper noted, in 2009
a trans-Tasman Options Framework was announced. Included under
this Framework
was business law, and in particular insolvency law, financial reporting
policy, competition policy, personal property,
securities law, intellectual
property law and consumer policy.
One of the specific challenges facing
regulators is determining those sectors of the economy that are most appropriate
for harmonisation.
The basic test is the extent to which a trans-Tasman
market exists. If there is no such market then there will be no compelling
case for a harmonised legal framework.
In our Issues Paper we asked
the question of the importance of a harmonised legal liability regime. We
noted that this
would inevitably mean that New Zealand would
adopt a proportionate liability regime given that in Australia,
both the
Commonwealth and the states made this shift in 2003.
We received
considerable feedback on this question. Submitters who represented
organisations operating on both sides of the Tasman
preferred New Zealand to
adopt the proportionate system of liability. This was most evident in the area
of professional services.128 Other submitters also wanted a
proportionate liability system but did not make the case primarily on the
basis of trans-Tasman
considerations. Instead they focused on the increased
costs that joint and several liability imposes on business providers. This
was
particularly evident amongst the submissions of those involved in the building
industry.
The New Zealand building industry is marked by its
relatively small scale. Unlike Australia, the industry has not developed
a
comprehensive manufacturing approach to building, and a large amount of work
is undertaken at the final site with high
levels of customisation. As a
result there is no significant trans-Tasman market for the supply of new
residences. New
Zealand suppliers are primarily concerned with the provision of
homes in New Zealand, rather than for export markets. The industry
is
therefore essentially domestic. Thus trans-Tasman harmonisation arguments are
not strong in relation to changing the liability
regime to meet the needs of the
building industry.
As discussed above, the Law Commission has come
to the view that the joint and several liability system with
modifications
is the most appropriate liability regime for New Zealand. In
the absence of a trans-Tasman market, there are insufficient
reasons,
particularly within the building industry, to make the case for a general
shift to a proportionate liability regime.
However, the question arises as
to whether other specific sectors would benefit from reform where CER is
particularly relevant.
127 Law Commission Review of Joint and Several Liability (NZLC IP32, 2012) [Issues Paper] at ch 6.
128 For example, see submission of Beca Group on Issues
Paper.
60 Law Commission Report
OPTIONS FOR PROVIDING RELIEF
8.12
8.13
This section will specifically examine the options for reform in respect of
the liability of service providers and professional advisers,
where CER
factors may be highly relevant.
The nature and coverage of the options
discussed below reflects our principal recommendation that joint and several
liability
should remain the primary rule. The reasons for retaining joint and
several liability are as applicable to adviser and service
provider
defendants as they are generally. To be jointly and severally liable, advisers
and service providers must still be held
to have caused or contributed to, and
be causally responsible for, a plaintiff’s loss. If they were not, then
they would not
be liable in the first place. We have therefore concentrated on
options that do not fundamentally change or negate the joint and
several
liability of each defendant,129 these being:
.
option one: retain status quo;
. option
two: enhanced status quo; or
. option three: capped
liability.
Option one: retain status quo
8.14
8.15
8.16
As with other businesses, advisers and service providers already have
a number of tools available to help reduce the
potential impact of a
liability. Subject to any statutory or other restrictions, they
can:
. seek to exclude or limit by contract, any liability to
contractual counter-parties;
. seek an indemnity from a
party they contract with for any liability they may incur in respect
of a third party, for example in tort;
.
expressly disclaim or limit responsibility to any third parties,
for example for any negligent
misstatement or misrepresentation that a third party might seek to rely
on; and/or
. maintain appropriate professional
indemnity cover.
We are aware that not all of these tools will be
available to all defendants or be effective in all circumstances.130
But in general, properly advised contract parties will be able to
negotiate to protect their respective interests in limiting
their
liability.
A common criticism of this current state of affairs is
that it works best when parties have relatively equal bargaining
power
and access to information. Despite the theoretical freedom to negotiate risk
allocation arrangements as part of an overall
contract proposal, a stronger
party may present its limitation proposals on a take-it-or-leave-it basis. An
adviser or service
provider who wants to secure a contract may have little
choice but to accept what is offered. This use of relative contracting
strength may either limit, maintain or transfer each party’s
potential liability.131
129 But see ch 5 and our recommendations to allow some relief from the full effects of joint and several liability to minor defendants.
130 For example, auditors are currently prohibited by the Securities Act 1978, s 61 from obtaining an indemnity from or being provided with insurance by their audit client, for any negligence or related liability arising from their engagement. A similar provision, Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013, s 529 will continue this prohibition when the Securities Act is repealed. The effectiveness of a general disclaimer of responsibility, while available in theory, is likely to be highly fact-specific – it may be difficult to effectively disclaim responsibility when the particular engagement was expressly to provide some mixture of assurance and certification to an identified class of third parties.
131 One submitter discussed this phenomenon in an Australian
proportionate liability context. In some states it is possible
to contract
out of proportionate liability. Tenderers have frequently found that agreeing
to joint and several liability, in contract,
is made a condition for securing
the deal. Of course, this only shows that market freedom is working, albeit in
the opposite direction
to the interests of parties who wish to limit their
liability. In contrast, see also [8.20]–[8.22] below regarding proposed
loosening of the Fair Trading Act 1986 prohibition on contracting out, which
may nevertheless allow some protection to a party
with lesser bargaining power
who may have little choice but to agree to a limitation provision proposed by a
stronger party.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 61
CHAPTER 8: Liability of professional service providers and
advisers
8.17
8.18
The status quo nevertheless has simplicity and does not require any
additional regulatory intervention. Parties can influence
their own
situation, within relatively broad business and some statutory
parameters.
However, in light of the continuing availability and
affordability of suitable insurance and market conditions, especially
where
trans-Tasman markets exist, options other than the status quo need to be
considered.
Option two: enhanced status quo
8.19
8.20
8.21
8.22
8.23
This option would retain the same general range of tools for advisers
and service providers to reduce their potential
limit of a liability, but
provide scope for legislative interventions to improve the effectiveness of
some of these opportunities.
A productive area in this regard could be
lifting or reducing statutory restrictions on contractual limiting of
liability. Section
61 of the Securities Act 1978, for example, is a
very specific prohibition on indemnities or insurance for company directors,
officers and auditors.132 Other Acts, including the Fair Trading
Act 1986 (FTA) and the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (CGA), currently
contain provisions
of general application prohibiting contracting out of
liabilities under each Act.
The CGA does allow contracting out
for business transactions. In contrast, business, professional and
commercial
parties cannot currently exclude the operation of the false or
misleading conduct provisions in the FTA. This restriction
tends to
discourage and limit the effectiveness of other legitimate agreements to
contract out, for example, an agreed limitation
or exclusion of liability for
contractual misrepresentation or negligent misstatement. But this position is
changing. The Consumer
Law Reform Bill133 was passed in December
2013 and will add new sections 5C and 5D to the FTA. While section 5C
will expressly confirm the
broad prohibition on contracting out, section
5D will allow an exception for business-to-business
contracts.134
There is clearly scope for statutory
restrictions on contracting out of liability to be revisited. Assuming the
proposed amendments
to the FTA proceed, they will strike a fair balance between
contractual freedom and guarding against a dominant party abusing
its
strength in contract negotiations. Beyond our support of this useful
improvement, we do not propose any amendments
to other statutory
provisions that limit contracting out. We indicated in our Issues Paper that
proposing amendments to such
restrictions are beyond the scope of this
review,135 and that is still the case. The place or continuing need
for such provisions should be assessed when relevant statutes are revisited
and any amendment must fit within the particular statutory and policy context
that applies. Thus, a decision to amend the prohibition
on auditors seeking
or being granted indemnities by their issuer or FMC reporting entity clients
must be determined as part of the
overall scheme of audit and financial market
regulation.
In any case, we are not convinced that further
efforts to loosen statutory constraints on negotiating limitations would
be fruitful. There has already been a decline in
statutory
132 Above n 130.
133 Consumer Law Reform Bill 2011 (287–2).
134 Section 5D will allow an exception for business-to-business contracts; where each party is acting “in trade” the parties may, so long as certain conditions are met, agree to contract out or limit some Fair Trading Act responsibilities, including the duty to avoid false or misleading conduct. A court can later determine whether a particular agreement is fair and reasonable. If not, the limitation will be unenforceable. The potential for agreed limitations to be struck down in this way may create uncertainty, but the proposed amendment should significantly improve the general ability of parties to agree between themselves the extent and limits on their potential liabilities to each other in an area that broadly overlaps common law misrepresentation/misstatement liability.
135 Issues Paper, above n 127, at [3.30].
62 Law Commission Report
constraints. Further, allowing greater freedom to negotiate contracts does
not guarantee parties will achieve results that both
agree with. Negotiations
remain open to the impacts of potentially unequal bargaining strength and
interference from non-parties.
In the case of auditors in the United Kingdom,
opposition from United States regulators and local institutional investors
made changes to companies legislation largely ineffective.136 If
the provisions had been able to function as designed, auditors and their
clients could have negotiated contractual limits
on liability, subject to
complying with applicable Companies Act provisions. There is every reason to
expect that institutional
investors in New Zealand could take a similar
stand.
Option three: capped liability
8.24
8.25
8.26
8.27
This option involves the maximum liability of members of a qualifying
group or groups being capped, either directly in statute,
or by an industry
scheme approved under an enabling statute. The liability of a service provider
or adviser who is held liable,
usually in contract or negligence, will be
limited by a set dollar amount, or by a set multiplier, and with an upper
dollar
limit setting the maximum possible liability. For example, in some
Australian states, engineers are subject to one of four levels
of cap, from not
more than $1.5 million to no more than $20 million, depending on a firm’s
income. The schemes also allow
for a higher cap to be set for a firm that has
income above $20 million.137
We noted in our Issues
Paper that caps for professional defendants’ liabilities are
often promoted or used
where there is a prospect of catastrophic
liability resulting from the catastrophic collapse of a client.138
The argument is that some level of protection from open- ended
liability is needed to encourage professionals to enter and
remain in the
sector, and to keep insurance costs affordable. The example provided by
the Enron collapse, and the
fatal damage that was done to Enron’s
auditors Arthur Andersen, demonstrates that catastrophes can lead to
unsurvivable
liability for affected advisers or service providers. In the wake
of Enron it has been asserted that any further catastrophic collapse,
accompanied by loss of one of more international professional services firms,
could damage whole economies. Capping of liability
is therefore argued as
necessary in the public interest, to protect business confidence and avoid
damage to economic infrastructure.
As a result of the Enron
experience, capping is often advanced as being necessary for major audit
firms, especially those
who audit the largest corporates and are
potentially most at risk of being caught by a catastrophic collapse.139
Capping schemes have also been proposed and implemented for various
other professional groups, most notably in Australia.
Professions that
have or have had schemes in place in one or more Australian states
include auditors, other accountants,
barristers, solicitors, IT or computer
consultants, valuers, engineers and surveyors.140
Capping is
a potentially strong option for providing relief for some professionals but we
consider that the arguments for and
against capping liability are not
necessarily the same for each profession. The case for auditors is strongly
influenced
not only by the “catastrophic collapse”
136 Under the Companies Act 2006 (UK) parties may negotiate “Liability Limitation Agreements” (LLAs) as long as they meet various statutory requirements. LLAs have proved unpopular with institutional investors who have “insisted” that LLAs only be used to institute proportionate liability for auditors. The refusal by United States regulators to accept audit engagements that include LLAs for companies listed in the United Sates as well as the United Kingdom has further reduced the impact of the option.
137 Professional Standards Councils “Engineers Australia (Vic) Scheme” (Notified 19 October 2012) <www.psc.gov.au>.
138 Issues Paper, above n 127, at [3.21].
139 For example, in 2008 the European Union recommended that member countries adopt one or more of: proportionate liability, statutory or contractual capping: see European Commission Recommendation 2008/473/EC concerning the limitation of the civil liability of statutory auditors and audit firms (5 June 2008). However, apart from the contracting out provisions included in the Companies Act (UK), these proposals have not yet generated significant national responses.
140 As approved by or notified to Professional Standards Councils of
Australia, see “Schemes” <www.psc.gov.au>.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 63
CHAPTER 8: Liability of professional service providers and
advisers
argument, but also by emerging trans-Tasman competition. In the next sections of this chapter we consider in more detail the case for capping and, in particular, the capping of auditor liability.
OPERATION OF CAPPED LIABILITY IN AUSTRALIA
The various Australian schemes
8.28
8.29
8.30
It is relevant to consider the Australian experience with capping. This
is not only because Australia is our closet neighbour
and largest
international market, but also because Australia is the only country to develop
a widespread application of capped liability
for professionals.
New
South Wales first developed state-authorised limitation schemes in the
1990s.141 Such schemes later formed a standard component for a
commonwealth and state consensus plan for tort and related business law
reform.142 All states and territories, except Tasmania, agreed
to enact uniform Professional Standards Acts. These allowed professional
bodies in each state to develop and propose schemes covering their
membership. In return for maintaining various scheme requirements
aimed to
encourage high professional standards, the maximum liability of members would
be capped.143 Schemes are submitted for approval to the relevant
Professional Standards Council for the state or territory. In practice the
states
and Commonwealth operate a single Council with common membership.
Where a state capping scheme is approved for a professional
group, the
federal government may also prescribe analogous rules to cover potential federal
liability arising within the state.
The actual caps on liability vary
between professions but are usually standardised across states. Auditors have
had the highest
potential liability and cap, with a minimum cap per event of
$1 million per engagement, where reasonable fees were less than
$100,000; a
cap of 10 times the reasonable fees for the engagement, up to a maximum cap of
$75 million.144 The “10 times fees” approach is not
applied to other accounting work, to which caps on liability of $1 million,
$10
million or $20 million apply, depending on the size and income of the
firm.145 Other groups, for example solicitors, have sought approval
to lower their standard cap per event for smaller firms from $2 million
to $1.5
million, with the cap for larger firms (more than 20 principals or more than
$10 million fee income) remaining at $10
million.146 There is no
sliding scale of increasing maximum, but the scheme does provide for a very
large firm to apply for a higher maximum
for all or a class of business. The
engineers’ schemes impose caps in four steps, from $1.5 million up to
$20 million,
depending on the income of the sole trader, partnership or body
corporate. The $20 million cap applies to bodies with income
over $10
million.147 Again, truly large firms with turnover in excess of $20
million can apply to have an appropriate cap set.
141 See for instance Professional Standards Act 1994 (NSW).
142 Introduced from 2002 after the collapse of HIH Insurance, one of the major professional indemnity providers in Australia.
143 Generally, to qualify for approval and therefore capped liability, a scheme must require compulsory professional indemnity insurance or equivalent approved assets held, up to the relevant capped liability level; satisfactory admission standards and compulsory continuing professional development (CPD) for covered members; a code of ethics; a complaints and discipline system accessible to the public/consumers; ongoing risk management programmes by the professional body to track claims, complaints and discipline, and CPD outcomes; and reporting annually on all of the above, to the Professional Standards Council.
144 Initial schemes allowed for caps as low as $500,000, the lowest limit allowed for in the legislation. But some significant changes have occurred in some recent Australian capping schemes. The latest capping scheme from CPA Australia for its New South Wales members (in force since October 2013) has raised the “minimum” cap to $2 million for firms with fewer than 20 principals and total annual fee income under $10 million per annum; the same $10 million cap as previously for firms with fee income less than $20 million per annum and fewer than 60 principals; and a cap of $75 million for audit firms with income over $20 million or more than 60 principals; or the existing $20 million cap for “large” non-audit firms. The upper caps have not moved – but the base and intermediate levels have been lifted significantly, in part by elimination of the previous “10 x fees” multiplier for auditors.
145 See for example Professional Standards Councils “Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia Professional Standards Scheme (NSW)” (2013, Draft) <www.psc.gov.au>.
146 Law Society of New South Wales “Scheme” (Notified 8 February 2012) <www.psc.gov.au>.
147 Professional Standards Councils, above n 137.
64 Law Commission Report
8.31
8.32
Apart from New South Wales, which introduced legislation to permit capping schemes in
1994, most schemes were implemented progressively by 2007 and 2008.
One of the criteria for schemes is that they may
be approved for not
more than five years. Professional bodies must then apply again for a
“new” scheme. The Professional
Standards Councils have indicated
that most, if not all, schemes have been or will be renewed in 2012
and 2013.148 Renewal is not automatic. At least one major
accounting professional body, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of
Australia
ICAA, had its application for renewal of its scheme in the Australian
Capital Territory declined in 2013, and other state ICAA schemes
expired as they
reached their termination dates.149
It is difficult to tell
what practical impact capping is having in Australia, primarily because it
was introduced at approximately
the same time as proportionate liability. Fears
of a professional insurance crisis in Australia have receded since 2002
and
2003 but it remains debatable whether this is because of
proportionate liability, and capped liability for professionals,
or simply
the retreat of a temporary panic in the market. Professional Standards
Australia indicates that the considerable
majority of claims covered by
each capping scheme are for amounts falling below the applicable cap. Thus
it may be that
the main effects of the capping schemes are educative, and
provide stronger incentives for groups of professionals and their
governing
bodies to develop and maintain high professional standards.
Capping for New Zealand professional advisers
8.33
8.34
8.35
With the exception of auditors, which we discuss separately below, we do
not consider there is a strong case for introducing
capping schemes like the
Australian models. Unless caps were set in statute, which we would not
recommend, introduction of capping
schemes would require an extra level of
administration by professional bodies, as well as supervision and approval of
schemes
by either the Crown or some entity selected or created to fulfil
the monitoring and approval roles.150 Given the differences
between Australian and New Zealand conditions and the lack of evidence of
the actual effect of caps,
there is not a substantial case to build this
infrastructure.
More importantly, New Zealand is not in the situation
that Australia appeared to face around
2002. New Zealand professionals requiring indemnity insurance can acquire
it, presumably at prices they can reasonably meet
as part of their costs
of doing business. In addition New Zealand does not have a professional
standards gap that capping schemes
might help to bridge. Professional bodies
and government continue to develop appropriate regulatory structures for
particular
professions as appropriate. Unlike Australia, in New Zealand
there is usually only one national body per profession, with
national
standards, discipline and professional development already well in hand.
Furthermore, some professions in New Zealand
are also subject to statutory
regulation, including lawyers and conveyancers, and
auditors.151
We do not consider that the existence of the
Australian capping models necessarily raises a CER argument for professions
generally.
Apart from some auditors, and perhaps a small segment of
consulting engineers who regularly compete and operate in Australia
and
New Zealand, the various professionals markets for the two countries remain
separate. Even if a New Zealand professional
does conduct business in
Australia from time to time, or vice versa, the differences
148 “Professional Standards Council” <www.psc.gov.au>.
149 The Professional Standards Council announced in May 2013 that it had not approved the proposed scheme for ICAA members in ACT: see Professional Standards Councils “Information regarding expiry of ICAA schemes in ACT, QLD, SA and VIC” (2013) <www.psc.gov.au>. Temporary schemes are being put in place, and the Professional Standards Council has asked the ICAA to reconsider important features of proposed long term replacements, including the minimum and maximum caps, and the “times 10” multiplier, for caps below the maximum.
150 This is performed in Australia by the Professional Standards Councils.
151 Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006; Auditors Regulation Act
2011.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 65
CHAPTER 8: Liability of professional service providers and
advisers
in liability provisions are unlikely to cause them or their customers significant difficulties. We therefore conclude that there is no need to harmonise or standardise arrangements in the narrow area of liability limitation for professional service providers and advisers.
A SPECIAL CASE FOR AUDITORS
Introduction
8.36
8.37
The accounting and auditing professions, including their national
professional body, the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants
(NZICA),
have strongly communicated to us that the audit industry presents unique
problems that proportionate liability as
well as capping of liability could
fix.
We identify two main considerations that may distinguish the case
for capping auditor liability from that for other professionals.
Despite our
recommendation to reject proportionate liability, we accept that the
question of capped liability deserves
to be considered separately
for auditors.152
CER considerations
8.38
8.39
The first aspect of the audit profession that is distinct from other
professions is the current and likely development of the audit
market in New
Zealand, especially the market for “large” audits. Within large
audits we include audits of listed companies,
audits of other securities or
financial markets “issuers” under the present Securities Act 1978
regime and its successor,
the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013.153
Since the Auditor Regulation Act 2011, which came into force in 2012,
auditors conducting these audits must be licensed under
that Act, with at
least one licensed partner who is responsible for the engagement.154
This tends to narrow the competitive field for such engagements to large
or very large firms.
The market for audit services is increasingly
becoming a trans-Tasman one. Large New Zealand firms told us that Australian
offices
of the largest firms (the “Big Four”),155 rather
than mid-sized New Zealand firms, are their principal competitors for large
audit engagements. We accept this and note that
this trend will continue given
the introduction of the Accounting Infrastructure Reform Bill in Parliament in
December 2013.
This Bill should remove the existing prohibition on audit
firms being incorporated. The provisions of the bill recognise
that audit
firms that are companies or overseas companies may in future be engaged
to conduct issuer or FMC reporting
entity audits.156 This will
remove a remaining barrier that could have prevented some overseas auditors
competing in New Zealand, because they
had already incorporated in their
home jurisdiction. In return, New Zealand firms will be able to incorporate
and achieve
the benefits of shareholders’ limited liability and
separate legal personality, while still carrying out audit
work.
152 We acknowledge that auditors in Australia have the advantage, like other Australian potential defendants, of proportionate liability being likely to apply to them. And as we note in the text, Australian auditors will inevitably be undertaking engagements in New Zealand, given CER and trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition arrangements. But it is not clear that Australian auditors will be able to “import” proportionate liability when operating in New Zealand. In any case, it is quite unrealistic to consider proportionate liability for one profession, or part of one profession, in New Zealand, especially when other measures such as a capping scheme can address the potential disadvantages that could be suffered by New Zealand auditors.
153 Under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 the general category will become either: “FMC reporting entities” as defined in s 451; or quite likely the subset of “FMC reporting entities considered to have a higher level of public accountability”, defined at s 461K. The 461K definition is likely to include companies and other entities that can be expected to have their audits carried out by the largest audit firms operating in New Zealand – whether they are New Zealand-based or overseas firms licensed to operate here.
154 Auditor Regulation Act 2011, ss 8 and 9.
155 The “Big Four” includes; Ernst & Young, Price Waterhouse Coopers, KPMG, and Deloitte.
156 Accounting Infrastructure Reform Bill 2013 (180-1), cl 5.
66 Law Commission Report
8.40
8.41
8.42
The nature of the market for issuer or FMC reporting entity audits has CER
dimensions. In our Issues Paper we discussed what
weight we should give to
CER considerations when assessing the case for reform.157
While we have not found CER considerations to have altered our
conclusion on proportionate liability, we consider that
such considerations
have much greater weight in the large audit market. Regulatory schemes for
auditing are already converging
and this will continue. This has helped
facilitate what is most likely already a natural interest by Australian audit
offices
in selected New Zealand clients and assignments. This might suggest
that the trans-Tasman audit market is already a CER
success story –
except that the market appears somewhat unbalanced in its present state.
This is because the availability
of capped liability in Australia means that
in that one important respect there is not a satisfactorily level field of
competition.
Australian firms will benefit from capped liability in their
home market, and may benefit in New Zealand if their engagements
allow them
to rely on capped liability, including by having the law of an Australian
state specified as the law of the contract.
It is not certain that this
result can be achieved; there will be conflict of laws arguments to be dealt
with if such a contract
is ever the subject of litigation. But at the very
least, Australian firms operating in New Zealand can rely on capped liability
at
home, and the prospect of or potential for capped liability for some New
Zealand engagements. However, New Zealand firms cannot
presently pursue
either option.
This is a relatively unusual case for CER, where firms
from the entering State already enjoy superior conditions to the incumbent.
Thus it is not a case of changing New Zealand conditions to promote entry.
Rather, there is a good argument to pursue capped
liability for New Zealand
auditors of issuers or FMC reporting entities – not to further open
the market, but rather to
ensure the market operates fairly for incumbents
and New Zealand auditors are not excluded from the market of large
audits.
The argument is that New Zealand auditors and firms ought to have
the same or similar ability to cap liability as their Australian
competitors.
If both national and state regimes provide for capping, then it ought to
be possible to adopt mutual recognition,
so that New Zealand and
Australian firms operating in New Zealand or any Australian jurisdiction
will have similar access
to capped liability.
Catastrophic risk
8.43
The other major consideration that we have given weight to is that
auditors, particularly auditors of the largest firms,
are more likely to be
exposed to the flow-on effects of a major catastrophic event than are other
professionals. The auditor
will typically be one of the first additional
parties aggrieved investors or other creditors may look to if the insolvency
of the principal firm or body makes direct recovery of losses impractical.
This by itself would not be particularly remarkable
or cause for concern
given that pursuing the auditor is never straightforward.158 And
it is tempting to treat New Zealand auditors as facing only low risk of
catastrophic liability. However, their rarity makes
such events even harder to
predict, and if one was to occur, the likely severity of harm remains a
significant concern that should
be managed, to the extent possible.
Introducing capped liability for auditors is one prudent step that can be taken
to limit the
impact of a catastrophic collapse. If auditors’ maximum
liability is capped at or about the same level as Australian
schemes, say
NZD$80 million, and the auditor must
157 Issues Paper, above n 127, at [6.16]–[6.26].
158 The question of whether and when auditors can or should be liable
in negligence to investors and other third parties
remains at best opaque in
New Zealand law, even though New Zealand law is theoretically more open to
the possibility than, say,
Australia or Canada: compare Scott Group Ltd v
McFarlane [1977] NZCA 8; [1978] 1 NZLR 553 (CA); and Boyd Knight v Purdue [1999] NZCA 347; [1999]
2 NZLR 278 (CA); to Esander Finance Corp Ltd v Peat Marwick Hungerfords
(1997) 188 CLR 241 (HCA); and Hercules Managements Ltd v Ernst &
Young [1997] 2 SCR 165.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 67
CHAPTER 8: Liability of professional service providers and
advisers
8.44
carry suitable professional indemnity cover liability up to that level, then the risk of a local
Enron–Arthur Andersen collapse is significantly reduced.
Capped
liability is unlikely to be a complete answer to preventing catastrophic loss
to audit firms. A local scheme may not
cope with an overseas event with
multinational effects. For example, if a “Big Four” firm suffers
catastrophic
damage from a very large event in an overseas market, capping of
local liability may not be enough to save its New Zealand
office.159
And capped liability would no doubt apply only for negligence, as opposed
to deliberate, intentional or fraudulent wrongdoing –
so a firm could
still bring on its own disaster. However, having a cap and defined liability
exposure should encourage and enable
firms to put in place their own systems
to ensure that, at worst, a firm’s liability is restricted to the
applicable capped
level.
THE COMMISSION’S VIEW
8.45
8.46
8.47
8.48
The Law Commission considers that there is a sound case for capped
liability for auditors conducting large audits. We
see large audits as
comprising audits of issuers or FMC reporting entities, or a subset of the
largest, most publicly accountable
FMC reporting entities that will be captured
by section 461K of the Financial Markets Conduct Act.
The principal
reasoning for capped liability for this part of the audit sector is to
allow New Zealand firms to remain
competitive, and reduce the risk or
consequences of a catastrophic loss event. Where a trans-Tasman market exists
and the
conditions are more favourable in one jurisdiction, the other
jurisdiction will be penalised in the market place. A similar
capped regime
to those operating in Australia will ensure a fair market for New Zealand
auditors who want to tender for large
audits. Taking prudent steps to reduce
the risk or consequences of a catastrophic loss event through capping is also
desirable
for auditors who conduct large audits, because the risk of a
catastrophic loss increases with the size of the audit. We are not
convinced
that there is a similar case to extend capping either to medium or
smaller audits, or to other accounting services.
There has been no
suggestion that trans-Tasman competition extends or indeed is likely to
extend to these services in the near
future. Furthermore, for reasons of
scale, these services do not contribute significantly to the risk of
catastrophic loss. It
is also possible that the lesser scale of activities and
potential liabilities would make the likely caps less relevant at this level.
If
the relevant caps were at either $2.5 million or $10 million, depending on
the firm or activity, we expect that this
is a level at which suitable
professional indemnity cover ought to be sufficient to manage risks.
A
capped liability scheme for large audits will only be realistic if it can be set
up and supervised efficiently. We expect that,
similar to Australia, the
professional accounting body, NZICA, should develop and submit a
suitable scheme that
complies with appropriate legislative
specifications and restrictions, to a statutory supervisor. In respect of
supervision,
we do not recommend the establishment of a new entity like the
Australian Professional Standards Councils, for obvious reasons
of economy
and scale. Given the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) already has the
central regulatory role under the Audit
Regulation Act we recommend that the
FMA be given authority to approve and supervise a scheme.
Like
Australia, approval of a scheme should be for a maximum of five
years, with the professional body able to
make a new application for
a new or renewed scheme. The requirement for periodic renewal is
important. Given the
novelty of such a scheme, it is desirable that
the need for it, as well as its features, be reviewed regularly. It may
turn
out that the scheme is of little use, with all or substantially all
applicable liabilities falling below
159 Although the availability of local cover may help save some of the
local infrastructure.
68 Law Commission Report
8.49
8.50
the capped levels. Or the opposite could be the case, with capped levels so
low that they reduce liability for many claims.
The capping level should
be similar to the levels set in Australia and should apply to all claims from
contracting parties or third
party investors. The cap for each audit firm should
be set based on audit firm revenue, with a cap at $2.5 million where income
from audits of large companies is under $10 million per annum; $25 million
where income from audits of large companies is
between $10 and $20 million
per annum; and $80 million where income from audits of large companies is
over $20 million per
annum.
Practitioners and firms who wish to be
subject to the capping scheme will be required to comply with ongoing
professional
obligations.160 Similar to Australian schemes, the
scheme should require the professional body to report on the working of the
scheme.161 The legislative provisions to give effect to a scheme
need not be extensive. We suggest that the power to approve schemes,
and the consequences and key requirements, be included in amendments to the
Auditor Regulation Act, with provision to make legislative
instruments, if
required.
160 These should include: maintain adequate professional indemnity cover, to the level of the highest cap affecting them (this provision should be harmonised with the existing provisions under the Auditor Regulation Act, for compulsory professional indemnity insurance); satisfy CPD obligations; comply with other professional supervision and disciplinary requirements; and provide all necessary information required under the scheme to the professional body, which will have reporting obligations to the supervisor.
161 For example, on claims patterns, availability and cost of suitable
indemnity cover; plans for risk management, risk
reduction and review of
outcomes; and compliance with CPD requirements.
Liability of Multiple Defendants 69
CHAPTER 8: Liability of professional service providers and
advisers
RECOMMENDATIONS
R12
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
Professional service providers and advisers should remain subject to the
normal application of joint and several liability.
Auditors and audit
firms conducting large or complex audits in New Zealand, including audits
of listed companies, other
issuers or Financial Market Conduct reporting
entities, should be able to participate in a capped liability scheme covering
their audit work, provided the scheme is approved by the Financial Markets
Authority (FMA) and individuals and firms qualify for
and comply with the
scheme.
The New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA),
its successor and/or other accredited professional bodies should
be invited to
develop an initial scheme to be submitted to the FMA or other suitable statutory
supervisor, which may approve the
scheme.
The cap for each audit firm
should be based on revenue, with a $2.5 million cap where income from
large or complex
audits is under $10 million per annum, a $25 million
cap where income from large or complex audits is between $10 and $20 million
per
annum and an $80 million cap where income from large or complex audits
is over $20 million per annum.
The cap will apply to all claims from
contracting parties or third party investors, whether founded in contract,
equity, tort,
or otherwise but will not apply to liability arising from
fraud, dishonesty or other intentional wrongdoing.
Approval of a scheme
will be for a maximum of five years, with the professional body able to make an
application for a new or renewed
scheme at that
time.
70 Law Commission Report
Appendix A
INDICATIVE DRAFT: RELIEF FOR MINOR DEFENDANT
Relief for minor defendant
(1)
In this section minor defendant means a party held liable in a
civil action but which or whom the court or tribunal determines bears only a
minor and limited responsibility
for the plaintiff’s loss.
A
liable party is not a minor defendant only because:
(a) (b)
(c)
the party’s share of responsibility falls below a particular
percentage or proportion, or is less than any other party’s
share of
responsibility, or both;
the party’s involvement in relevant events
was largely or completely restricted to providing verification, certification
or other independent services required to facilitate the events or
elements of them; or
the party was under a statutory obligation to
provide relevant services or take relevant
actions.
(2) (3)
(4)
In this section and for the avoidance of doubt,
“damages”, include damages, interest and costs awarded by a
court or tribunal, other than any separate costs awards for which
the
minor defendant is not expressly made liable.
A party may make an
application, before or at trial, to be declared a minor defendant, but such a
declaration has no effect unless
and until the applicant is held liable.
Applications must be on appropriate notice, in accordance with the High Court
Rules.
A liable party that has been declared a minor defendant may make an
application at or after trial for relief from the full effect
of their joint
and several liability to the plaintiff provided:
(a)
(b)
the application for relief is made within 12 months of the sealing
of the of the relevant judgment on damages, except that
the court or tribunal
may grant leave for a late application where it is in the interests of justice
that the application be heard;
the minor defendant (or minor defendants,
if the court has determined that there is more than one minor defendant)
is or are
the only remaining liable party or parties available
to
meet the judgment sum or an unpaid part of the judgment
sum.
(5)
The court or tribunal may grant relief to a minor defendant only if it
is satisfied that the normal application of joint and several
liability would
produce a clear injustice because:
(a)
(b)
the minor defendant would be required to meet damages substantially
in excess of those indicated by the minor defendant’s
share of
responsibility; and
the circumstances otherwise provide justification
for relief.
(6)
When determining whether there is justification for relief in terms of
paragraph (5)(b), the court or tribunal shall take into account
all relevant
circumstances including but not limited to:
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
the minor defendant’s adjudged share of fault or responsibility for
the plaintiff’s loss; whether any of the factors listed
in paragraphs
(1)(b) or (1)(c) apply to the minor defendant and if so, whether or not the
minor defendant’s conduct in their
role, office or duty tends to support
relief being granted.
the likely effects on the minor defendant if relief is
not granted, and the extent to which any relief might mitigate such
effects;
the likely effects on the plaintiff if any relief is granted,
(other than any effects that would
prevent the plaintiff from receiving an effective remedy, see paragraph
7(a)).
Liability of Multiple Defendants 71
APPENDIX A: Indicative draft: relief for minor defendant
(7)
The court or tribunal may, if it considers the case for relief is made out,
reduce a minor defendant’s liability to an amount
or maximum amount that
is just in all the circumstances and which ensures that:
(a) (b)
the plaintiff will still receive an effective remedy; and
the result achieves reasonable fairness as between plaintiff and minor
defendant.
(8)
What constitutes an effective remedy for the purposes of subsection
(7)(a) shall be determined by the court or tribunal in each
case, except that
in no case may relief reduce the plaintiff’s potential total recovery to
less than half the damages they
were originally
awarded.
72 Law Commission Report
Appendix B
DRAFT CIVIL LIABILITY AND CONTRIBUTION ACT
162
162 Taken from: Law Commission Apportionment of Civil Liability
(NZLC R47, 1998).
Liability of Multiple Defendants 73
APPENDIX B: Draft Civil Liability and Contribution Act
74 Law Commission Report
Liability of Multiple Defendants 75
APPENDIX B: Draft Civil Liability and Contribution Act
76 Law Commission Report
Liability of Multiple Defendants 77
APPENDIX B: Draft Civil Liability and Contribution Act
78 Law Commission Report
Liability of Multiple Defendants 79
APPENDIX B: Draft Civil Liability and Contribution Act
80 Law Commission Report
Liability of Multiple Defendants 81
APPENDIX B: Draft Civil Liability and Contribution Act
82 Law Commission Report
Liability of Multiple Defendants 83
APPENDIX B: Draft Civil Liability and Contribution Act
84 Law Commission Report
Liability of Multiple Defendants 85
APPENDIX B: Draft Civil Liability and Contribution Act
86 Law Commission Report
Liability of Multiple Defendants 87
Appendix C
LIST OF SUBMITTERS
. Auckland Council
. Beca Group Limited
. Building Industry Federation
. Building Officials Institute of New Zealand
. BuiltIn New Zealand
. Christchurch City Council
. Construction Industry Council
. CPA Australia Ltd
. Deloitte
. Dunedin Community Law Centre
. Ernst & Young Limited
. Fletcher Building Limited
. Alan Grace
. Grimshaw & Co Solicitors
. Hamilton City Council
. Hastings District Council
. Rt Hon Sir John Henry QC
. Home Owners & Buyers Association of New
Zealand
. Ministry of Business, Innovation and
Employment
. New Zealand Institute of
Architects
Incorporated
. New Zealand Institute of
Building Surveyors
Inc
. New Zealand Institute of
Chartered
Accountants
. New Zealand Law
Society
. Orchiston Architects Limited
.
Parker & Associates Barristers & Solicitors
.
Property Council New Zealand
.
PwC
. QBE Insurance New
Zealand
. Queenstown Lakes District
Council
. Registered Master Builders Federation
of
New Zealand Incorporated
.
Riskpool
. Society of Local Government
Managers
. Tararua District Council
. IAG New Zealand Group
. Insurance Council of New Zealand
. IPENZ & ACENZ (Combined Submission)
. KPMG
. Local Government New Zealand
. Lumley General Insurance (New Zealand)
Limited
. Master Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers
. Bruce McCartney, Registered Architect,
ANZIA
. Will McKenzie
. Vero Liability Insurance Limited
.
Waipa District Council staff submission
.
Wellington City Council
.
WHK
.
Anonymous
88 Law Commission Report
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