The homeowner loses the appeal in court against a prominent earthquake claims advocate

A woman says she felt betrayed by the company as she worked to resolve the insurance dilemma for her earthquake-damaged home in Christchurch, whose claims were rejected by the Supreme Court.

At a hearing in October 2020, Lucia Pfisterer alleged that Claims Settlement Services, owned by Bryan Staples and law firm Grant Shand Solicitors, had violated their obligations to act in their best interests and misrepresented their services.

The case is believed to be a test case for a class action lawsuit against settlement of claims.

In a decision issued last week, Judge Anne Hinton found that Pfisterer was aware of the true nature of the contract with Claims Resolution, that the contract was not unfair and that Claims Resolution honored her part of the contract. Grant Shand Solicitors generally acted properly, and although they breached some of their fiduciary duties towards them, they resulted in no loss.

Read more: * Quake champ Bryan Staples and attorney Grant Shand failed to stop the class-action lawsuit * The plaintiff agreed to pay low compensation after “running out of energy and money” * The head of the family felt “betrayed” by the earthquake advisors

The case began as a claims resolution claim against Pfisterer for a fee of approximately $ 93,000.

Pfisterer said she shouldn’t be paying because she was misled, deceived, and fallen victim to an unreasonable deal, claims decision and Grant Shand Solicitors violated their duty to act in her best interests. She claimed damages of $ 56,000.

Dean Kozanik / Staff

Brian Staples is at his former “Earthquake Center” on Ferry Road and the corner of Fitzgerald Street in Christchurch.

Pfisterer bought her home in Fifield Tce, St. Martins, in 2009 for $ 351,500. After being badly damaged in the Canterbury earthquakes, she spent two years arguing with the Southern Response and Earthquake Commission (EQC). Mold grew all over the house and walls and foundations had large cracks.

EQC initially told her the home could be repaired for $ 20,000, but in 2013 she paid her entitlement at the $ 117,136 cap and referred the claim to Southern Response, which valued the home’s repair cost at $ 321,869.

In late 2013, Pfisterer sought help from Earthquake Services, the Staples company that runs a “no profit, no pay” service. When “winning,” the homeowner will have to pay the legal costs and all other costs and pay a commission to settle the claims.

An initial damage assessment by 8D Project Management (8D), a company partly owned by Staples, estimated the cost of repairing a Pfisterer home at $ 816,340 and rebuilding at $ 946,710.

In June 2014 Southern Response reported that the cost to repair a Pfisterer home was $ 354,676. It will also deduct the EQC payment it has already received.

Grant Chand’s attorney filed a lawsuit against the Southern Response in July 2014. A new evaluation puts the cost of the repair at $ 969,429, allowing approximately $ 300,000 for the improved institutions. The Southern Response, in August 2015, offered a settlement of $ 467,000.

Two days before the trial began on April 26, 2016, the Southern Response offered $ 500,000 cash without deducting EQC payments, $ 25,000 for demolition costs, and if it chose to rebuild on-site, it would pay $ 303,346 to the improved foundations.

Fixed playgrounds / stuff

Attorney Grant Chand, left, at a hearing in October 2020.

Grant Shand’s attorney Andrew Ferguson called Pfisterer with the offer, and she initially accepted after thinking about it for 20 minutes. Thirty minutes after approval, she emailed Ferguson saying she had decided not to accept the offer, but Ferguson had already transferred her acceptance to the Southern Response. Despite the email, the law firm has sent an email to the Supreme Court to say that the dispute has been settled and that no hearing is required.

Pfisterer then hired GCA Lawyers, a Christchurch company owned by Grant Cameron, to get a better deal for her. In September 2017, she settled with Southern Response largely on the same terms as the previous year’s offering and had to pay the GCA $ 56,364 in legal fees.

Judge Hinton said in her view that Fasterer was a determined and intelligent woman, and she did not accept that Vasterer had been misled or deceived in her dealings with claims settlement, earthquake services, and 8D.

Judge Hinton said that Pfisterer had been informed of the connections between the companies, which were apparent anyway. She also did not accept that Pfisterer was at a particular disadvantage due to her mental state and financial position and that the claims decision benefited. She was nervous but was not upset.

Checkpoint / RNZ

A Christchurch couple in an ongoing legal battle with Southern Response say it’s heartbreaking that an appeals court decision is on their way, after a decade of horrific earthquakes. (Video first published September 2020)

In general, the agreement with the claims settlement was not unfair and the statutory fees set by the claims decision were largely subject to model fees.

Judge Hinton also found that the claims settlement did not violate her contract with Pfisterer using an internal volume surveyor and Grant Shand’s law firm. The quantity surveyor was independent of the insurance industry and EQC, and while Grant Shand was not completely independent of resolving claims, he was independent in terms of his ability to represent Pfisterer.

Shand and Claims Resolution was not in a joint venture relationship and Shand did not have that kind of personal interest in the transactions that should be disclosed to Pfisterer. Also, the lawyer did not split loyalties.

The judge did not accept that Vasterer had come under pressure for the April 2016 settlement, or that she had not received adequate advice on it.

“While it would have been better for Mr. Ferguson to allow Mrs. Pfisterer more time, it is very common for the time to be short when the match is on hold and very common for insurers to negotiate at the last minute.”

Grant Shand Solicitors breached its fiduciary duty by acting contrary to instructions to continue negotiating the settlement with the Southern Response Team after Pfisterer withdrew its acceptance and by filing a warrant in court after terminating its instructions. But Pfisterer was unable to show any loss that ensued as a result.

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