12 September 2024

Legal Costs: Red Stag Timber v. Juken NZ

 

A long-running court battle over market share for treated timber framing saw losing litigant Red Stag Timber out of pocket for not only its lawyers’ fees but ordered to compensate competitor Juken for $1.3 million of its costs.

Rotorua-based Red Stag and its New Zealand owners challenged laminated timber framing produced by Japanese-owned Juken New Zealand Ltd as not complying with building standards.

The High Court ruled Juken was compliant; Red Stag was demanding Juken satisfy higher standards than those applying to its own traditional whole sawn framing timber.

High Court rules require Red Stag as the unsuccessful party to compensate Juken for its costs.

Compensation for legal fees is calculated on a set scale. Actual legal fees always exceed the scheduled hourly rate.

Red Stag was ordered to pay a $430,400 contribution towards Juken’s legal costs.  The court was told Juken incurred extra costs dealing with changes belatedly made by Red Stag to the ambit of its claim.

Compensation for expert witness costs are recoverable in full, to the extent they are reasonable.

Juken was awarded some $890,000.  This was less than the one million dollars in actual expert witness costs Juken incurred.

Much of the court’s time was taken up with experts disputing both interpretation of building standards governing framing timber and the economic effect of Juken entering the market with its laminated product.

Justice Venning ruled this expert testimony was relevant and necessary.  For some witness costs, the hours spent on preparation were pruned back as excessive.

The highest hourly billing rate was from an Australian consultant charging Juken AUD 800 per hour.

Red Stag Timber Ltd v. Juken New Zealand Ltd – High Court (12.04.24)

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