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Selwyn_Times: July 06, 2022

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<strong>Selwyn</strong> <strong>Times</strong> Wednesday <strong>July</strong> 6 <strong>2022</strong><br />

Legal Matters<br />

Do you qualify for a “top<br />

up” settlement payment<br />

from Southern Response?<br />

If you settled an earthquake<br />

insurance claim with AMI or Southern<br />

Response before 1 October 2014,<br />

then you may be entitled to further<br />

compensation from Southern<br />

Response.<br />

As a result of court proceedings<br />

(Southern Response v Dodds),<br />

Southern Response was held to have<br />

misled its insureds by withholding<br />

the true costs to repair or rebuild an<br />

earthquake damaged house.<br />

When settling claims before October<br />

2014, for each house Southern<br />

Response prepared a “Detailed<br />

Repair/Rebuild Analysis” (DRA)<br />

which set out the cost of repairing<br />

or rebuilding. This DRA was<br />

disclosed to homeowners. However,<br />

Southern Response prepared a<br />

second, internal DRA that was<br />

never disclosed to homeowners<br />

which included professional fees,<br />

project management costs, and a<br />

contingency allowance, all as part<br />

of the total costs to repair or rebuild<br />

the damaged house, that were not<br />

included in the DRA provided to<br />

homeowners.<br />

The High Court held that not<br />

disclosing the true costs of repairing<br />

or rebuilding the house was<br />

misleading and that the amount of<br />

the non-disclosed costs should be<br />

paid out to the homeowner who took<br />

the case. They received $178,894.30.<br />

This decision was upheld despite<br />

Southern Response appealing to the<br />

Court of Appeal. Southern Response<br />

has now accepted that it will<br />

compensate other homeowners who<br />

cash settled with Southern Response<br />

and who did not receive the full repair<br />

or rebuild costs.<br />

You may be one of approximately<br />

3000 homeowners eligible for a<br />

further ‘top-up’ payment package<br />

from Southern Response if you owned<br />

a home:<br />

- That was Insured with AMI; and<br />

- Was damaged in the 2010-2011<br />

Canterbury earthquake sequence;<br />

and<br />

- You settled your insurance claim<br />

with AMI or Southern Response before<br />

1 October 2014.<br />

We have an experienced litigation and<br />

insurance team, with our specialist<br />

staff being experts with earthquake<br />

insurance claim processes and<br />

resolving claims, having worked for<br />

both insurers and insureds in this<br />

area for many years.<br />

To be eligible for an offer, you need<br />

to register with Southern Response<br />

by April 2023. If you think you<br />

might be eligible or want more<br />

information, please get in touch with<br />

us at insurance@tp.co.nz. Southern<br />

Response will contribute towards your<br />

legal costs.<br />

14<br />

LETTERS<br />

Chlorination should<br />

be a last resort<br />

I DO not agree with blanket chlorination<br />

across the district. Some supplies have<br />

secure groundwater and low risk,<br />

whereas others have high risk, such as<br />

the restricted supplies that could have<br />

backflow issues. It needs to be on a caseby-case<br />

basis based on risk assessment.<br />

Chlorine should be a last resort and only<br />

if a residual is required in the reticulation<br />

system. Cartridge or membrane filtration<br />

and/or UV are better options without<br />

leaving a bad taste.<br />

-Rob Potts<br />

Darfield<br />

Hospital<br />

Ellesmere Hospital has been a vital part<br />

of the community for many more than the<br />

44 years that I have lived in Southbridge.<br />

Two of my children were born there,<br />

and in later years it has been a muchneeded<br />

place for patients needing respite<br />

and end-of-life care.<br />

The convenience of a local hospital<br />

meant that families who were unable to<br />

travel large distances could spend time<br />

with their loved ones and knew that they<br />

were receiving the best care.<br />

The hospital created employment for<br />

local residents, who also knew many of<br />

the local patients who were in their care.<br />

I, along with many others would be very<br />

sad for the district to lose our hospital.<br />

-Helen Carter<br />

Southbridge<br />

CHLORINATION: The Water Services<br />

Act 2021 requires all councils<br />

to be able to chlorinate public<br />

drinking water supplies and begin<br />

chlorination by November 15, unless<br />

they have an exemption.<br />

We want to hear your views on<br />

the issues affecting life<br />

in <strong>Selwyn</strong><br />

Send emails to:<br />

barry@<br />

starmedia.kiwi<br />

Letters may be edited or rejected at Star<br />

Media’s discretion. Letters should be about<br />

200 words.<br />

A name, postal address and phone number<br />

should be provided.<br />

Please use your real name, not a nickname,<br />

alias, pen name or abbreviation.<br />

MEARES WILLIAMS<br />

LAWYERS<br />

Over 10 Years in <strong>Selwyn</strong><br />

Belinda Ferguson<br />

Maddy France<br />

Kieran Heenan<br />

Olivia Johnston<br />

Anita Molloy-Roberts<br />

W: www.meareswilliams.co.nz<br />

T: (03) 374 2547<br />

E: reception<br />

@meareswilliams.co.nz<br />

ROLLESTON OFFICE<br />

80A Rolleston Drive, Rolleston<br />

Offices also located at:<br />

43 Gerald Street, Lincoln<br />

225 Papanui Road, Christchurch<br />

Please contact us to make an appointment<br />

in one of the four convenient office locations<br />

Darfield • Ashburton • Rolleston • Christchurch<br />

Kate Warren (Senior Associate)<br />

Mobile: 0273843054<br />

Email: kate.warren@tp.co.nz<br />

Rolleston & Darfield office: 03 317 9099<br />

Christchurch office: 03 374 9999<br />

Ashburton office: 03 308 4188<br />

Rural and Agricultural Law, Conveyancing, refinancing, leasing & property transactions,<br />

Land acquisitions, boundary adjustment and subdivision, Insurance Law, Occupation Right Agreements<br />

and Estate and Succession Planning, including Enduring Powers of Attorney, Trusts, and Wills.<br />

HEAT PUMP<br />

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*Eligibility criteria apply<br />

• We will offer you the best quality brands and<br />

option of heat pump for your home/business<br />

• Providing Heat Pump solutions for over 20 years to Cantabrians<br />

• We personally guarantee all our products & installs for 5 years<br />

(providing annual maintenance has been completed)<br />

Phone us today for your free consultation & quote<br />

41A SHAKESPEARE RD, WALTHAM<br />

PHONE 03 366 0525<br />

www.enviromaster.co.nz<br />

“A local team for local people”

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