Legal Claims, Litigation & External Legal Services 2023/24 & 2024/25
Response
Sent: Thursday, 12 January 2026 7:31 am
Subject: LGOIMA request - REQ26-3078237 - Legal Claims, Litigation & External Legal Services 2023/24 & 2024/25.
Kia ora
I refer to your LGOIMA request of 16 January 2026 for information regarding Legal Claims, Litigation and External Legal Services 2023/24 and 2024/25.
Please see responses to your requests below:A list of all legal claims, proceedings or notices of claim made against Rotorua Lakes Council in each financial year, including:
A list of all legal claims, proceedings or notices of claim made against Rotorua Lakes Council in each financial year, including:
- The general nature of each claim (e.g. employment, contract, property, regulatory, personal injury, other).
- The status of each claim (open, settled, withdrawn, resolved).
- Whether the claim is insured or uninsured.
| Nature of Claim | Description of Matter | Insured/Uninsured | Current status of matter |
| Regulatory | Road Subsidence | Insured | Closed |
| Contract | Construction Dispute | N/A | Settled |
| Lease | Lease Claim | Uninsured | Settled |
| Contract | Construction Dispute | Uninsured | Unknown |
| Public | Judicial Review Proceeding | Uninsured | Open |
| Contract | Contractor Dispute | Uninsured | Open |
| Contract | Contract Dispute | Uninsured | Open |
| Employment | Dispute | Uninsured | Closed |
| Employment | Dispute | Uninsured | Closed |
| Employment | Dispute | Uninsured | Closed |
| Employment | Dispute | Uninsured | Closed |
| Employment | Dispute | Uninsured | Closed |
| Employment | Dispute | Uninsured | Closed |
For each financial year, the total amount paid by the Council for:
- External legal advice and litigation services.
| FY24 | FY25 |
| $ 772,373.39 | $ 953,221.46 |
- Settlement payments (excluding confidential claimant identities if required).
Council declines this portion of your request under section 7(2)(i) of the LGOIMA - ‘enable any local authority holding the information to carry on, without prejudice………...including commercial negotiations.’
A breakdown by of external legal spend by:
- Law firm or provider
- Total fees paid to each provider in each financial year.
| Lawfirm/Provider | FY24 | FY25 |
| Holland Beckett Lawyers | $ 3,862.61 | $ 10,102.17 |
| JB Morrison Lawyers | $ 21,064.69 | $ 6,639.85 |
| Rice Speir Limited | $ 13,131.36 | $ 5,605.01 |
| Simpson Grierson | $ 1,550.00 | $ 4,622.51 |
| Tompkins Wake | $732,764.73 | $926,251.92 |
Any internal reports, briefings or summaries to councillors or Council committees since 1 July 2023 that discuss:
- Trends in legal claims or litigation risk.
- Increases in legal or consultancy expenditure.
- Legal risk exposure noted in the Annual Report.
Council’s Audit & Risk Committee receives a Claims Current Tracker report. Council declines this portion of your request under section 7(2)(g) of the LGOIMA ‘to maintain legal privilege.’
Council does not track tends in legal claims or litigation risk or increases in legal and/or consultancy expenditure. However, when conducting budget reviews, if there is a large change in expenditure it would be investigated to find the why/what factors that have driven the change.
The Council's current estimate of total legal liability or exposure as at 30 June 2025, and how this compares to the estimate at 30 June 2024.
Please find the link to the information requested contained in section 22 - Contingencies under the heading ‘Legal Proceedings – The Groups effective exposure to legal claims’ in the Annual Report on Council’s website HERE.
