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A landmark court judgment which threatens to burden councils and their ratepayers with multimillion-dollar costs from leaky home settlements is being challenged.
But the move could financially destroy the woman who won the judgment and who has been unable to live in her rotting and leaking home.
The
High Court judgment ordered the Waitakere City Council to pay 69-year-old Colleen Dicks $250,900 because its building inspectors approved the way her Hobsonville home was built.
Because the builder, Hobson Swan Construction, is in liquidation, Waitakere City was left with the full bill.
But the council is taking the ruling to the Court of Appeal in a bid to have it overturned.
It is fighting to save RiskPool, the national insurance scheme that defends 82 territorial authorities - including Waitakere - against the leaky building catastrophe, estimated to cost $5 billion to $10 billion to fix.
It believes Justice David Baragwanath's ruling in December opens the door to a flood of lawsuits that could overwhelm RiskPool.
But the council's decision to appeal has left Mrs Dicks distraught.
"I really can't cope with this. It's like a game of cat and mouse," she said.
She believed the council was being vindictive in appealing.
Radio Live host and Wanganui Mayor Michael Laws and the radio station announced today that they will financially support her Court of Appeal legal expenses.
Her rotting Wiseley Rd house is uninhabitable because the bathroom is not functioning.
She said defending herself in the Court of Appeal would cost at least $10,000, yet she had nowhere to live and had lost all her life savings.
Lawyer Tim Rainey, of Mrs Dicks' solicitor, Grimshaw & Co, said matters could get worse because the council might seek costs from her.
"We advised our client of the risks in taking the case to court. She knows that if she loses, she could face a claim by the council for costs."
That could be $50,000 to $70,000, he said.
Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey initially said his council would pay Mrs Dicks after she won her case.
"If we've not done what we're supposed to do, we say sorry and write the cheque," he said last month.
Now, he says the decision to appeal is RiskPool's call and is out of his hands, even though he is unhappy with the situation.
"I have some difficulty with that," he said. "I've made it clear that it comes from our assessors. They told us they have to take it to the wire. This is a test case. I see RiskPool's point of view but it doesn't sit easy with me."
Mr Rainey urged Mr Harvey to put his money where his mouth was.
"The filing of the appeal is completely inconsistent with the public statements of the mayor," he said.
"The council was found clearly liable to Mrs Dicks and it has not paid as he said it would.
"Mr Harvey's comments led our client to believe her long ordeal was at an end, so to find out through service of the notice that this is not the case has been very distressing for her."
The fight was unfair because the council had ratepayer money, while Mrs Dicks faced difficulties financially and emotionally, he said.
Mr Rainey predicted the appeal would fail because of the factual findings in Justice Baragwanath's ruling.
John Gray of the Leaky Homes Action Group, which represents about 2000 victims, was shocked by the appeal.
"It's deeply disturbing in terms of the implications it will have on Mrs Dicks - that's the frightening part.
"The implication from the council is, 'Don't mess with us'."
Mr Gray called on all leaky building victims to contribute to a fund for Mrs Dicks' legal costs and said he would contact his members for financial help.
* Anyone wanting to contribute to Mrs Dicks' appeal fund should email johngray-lhag@xtra.co.nz
