Adina Thorn of Adina Thorn Lawyers announced that the dedicated investment funds advised by Harbour Litigation Funding Limited (Harbour) will be providing financing for the proposed class action against various manufacturers of defective plaster cladding installed in thousands of buildings across New Zealand. The damages to be claimed in the proposed class action are likely to exceed NZ$100M.
Adina Thorn says Harbour’s agreement to fund the proposed action means that there will be no out-of-pocket cost to participants in the action. “Harbour only invests in cases it believes have strong prospects of success, so we are encouraged that they have decided to fund this class action.”
Over 1,000 building owners have already registered for the proposed class action via the website www.goodcladding.co.nz. Registrations have been received from around the world including New Zealand, Australia and the UK. Adina said she has been surprised by the number of registrations: “We have had an overwhelming response from leaky building owners across New Zealand. Many have lost everything some have 100% mortgages or cannot increase their lending most can’t afford to fix the problem. Thousands of people and families have been left with no choice but to live in leaky, mouldy homes that can pose a significant health hazard.”
Detailed evaluation of claims will now continue. Adina encourages other owners of plaster clad buildings to register via the website www.goodcladding.co.nz
Harbour Litigation Funding, through the dedicated investment funds that it advises, provides commercial litigation funding to all types of dispute. It has over £400M in capital behind it and is the UK’s largest litigation funder. Harbour operates in 13 international jurisdictions and 4 arbitral forums.
