You may not realise it, but you may be an unlicensed motor vehicle trader. A recent Court of Appeal decision[1] makes it clear that a person or company will need to register as a motor vehicle trader under the Motor Vehicle Sales Act 2003 if that person or company sells more than six motor vehicles in any 12 month period, unless it can prove that those motor vehicles were not sold for the primary purpose of “gain”.
Did you know that unless one of the limited exceptions in the Motor Vehicle Sales Act 2003 applies, if your business in any period of 12 consecutive months sells more than 6 motor vehicles, for example to staff or to any related company, other than via a registered motor vehicle trader (dealer), the Registrar of Motor Vehicle Traders will require you to register under that Act as a motor vehicle trader or face prosecution?
A natural disaster can have devastating effects on business operations. Whether you are a landlord or a tenant under a commercial lease, it is important to obtain legal advice both before you enter into the lease and in the aftermath of a natural disaster. This article considers some of the issues to discuss with your lawyer.
A number of circumstance may give rise to you wanting to transfer a contract. For instance, you may have sold your business and you want to transfer your customer contracts or purchase contracts to the purchaser of the business.
Have you sufficiently brought your terms and conditions of trade to the attention of your customers and contractors to ensure they will take effect should something go wrong? For one New Zealand company recently, the answer was unfortunately "no".
Most businesses that have a standard set of terms and conditions of sale will also include a clause providing for interest in the event of non-payment. Often such clauses will provide for interest at a rate that is tied to the 90-day bill rate or the official cash rate.
Despite their informal nature, emails can create binding obligations.
Employment Agreements sometimes contain indemnities from the employer for liabilities the employee incurs in the course performing his or her duties as employee. Such an indemnity can also be implied by law, if the employment agreement does not contain an explicit indemnity. However there are some issues that can affect the enforceability of these.
The High Court decision of Lewis Holdings Ltd v Steel & Tube Holdings Ltd [2014] NZHC 3311 has highlighted the importance of maintaining a subsidiary’s independence from its parent company.
Starting a new business can be an exciting time, and one in which, during the excitement, considerations of legal and structural issues are often overlooked. This often leads to costly and time-consuming problems. To help you minimise the risk of unintended or unforeseen consequences in the future, this article sets out some of the issues you should consider before starting a new business.