Commercial

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.

Even though we are now out of an economic downturn, it is still useful to look at what lessons learned during the downturn could give better protection for business owners including how key assets are owned.

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 effect 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.

Where a lease requires the tenant to obtain the landlord’s consent, the Property Law Act 2007 says that the landlord cannot ‘unreasonably’ withhold or delay that consent.  Any considerations or obligations to consent set out in a lease must also be reasonable.