Proposed action against Carter Holt Harvey’s Shadowclad

April 3rd, 2018

Funded proposed action against Carter Holt Harvey’s Shadowclad gathering momentum

Hundreds of property owners from around rural and urban New Zealand have already signed up to join the proposed Shadowclad Class Action.

Home owners and those with commercial buildings, concerned about failures of the plywood-based Shadowclad should act now if they wish to join the proposed funded class action against the makers of the cladding product, Carter Holt Harvey.

The lawyers leading the funded class action, Adina Thorn, of Adina Thorn Lawyers, says the firm has now received registrations of more than $40 million.

“Many of those who have registered with us are very grateful for the fact that they can be part of the claim while facing no out of pocket expenses.

“That is because the significant cost in legal and other fees it requires to mount an action of this scale will be met by a third party funder in return for them retaining a share of any damages awarded.

“In this case the independent funder is a fund managed by Harbour Litigation Funding, based in London.

“Harbour work on behalf of sophisticated investors, and use a team of legal experts to evaluate the merits of a particular case before agreeing to provide the level of funding it needs to proceed and be successful.

“They know that if a case is unsuccessful, they will get nothing. If it succeeds they take a percentage of recovery typically in the order of 30%.

“This means building owners can join the proposed action secure in the knowledge they will not be incurring legal and other fees as the funder will cover these in return for taking a share of any judgment or settlement sum awarded.”

Adina Thorn says the high level of interest in the claim also reflects the fact that Carter Holt Harvey has been selling the plywood-based cladding product in New Zealand for some 20 odd years and its widespread use in homes, sheds and coastal properties.

“Many claimants have been encouraged by knowing that Shadowclad is already subject to court proceedings brought by the Ministry of Education in relation to approximately 880 leaky school buildings.

Adina says anyone who has a property with Shadowclad installed should register their interest online at www.adinathorn.co.nz .

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