LAWCOMM 440 Guarantees and Indemnities

Credit Points: 10 points
Offered: Summer Semester
Contact Hours: Lectures — Mon and Wed 9-12 am commencing 9 Jan and ending 8 Feb
Lecturer: Michael Lenihan
Prerequisites: LAW 201, 211, 231, 241
Restriction: LAW 401

Course Description:

An introduction to the law regarding guarantees and indemnities in New Zealand. The course will mainly focus on guarantees. If time allows, I will try to cover indemnities in the last lecture.

Content Outline:

Guarantees
• What is a guarantee?
• The contractual requirements of a guarantee; offer, acceptance, consideration etc.
• The formal requirements: s27 of the Property Law Act 2007.
• Construction of guarantees by the courts.
• Vitiating factors: undue influence and non-disclosure/misrepresentation.
• Revocation and discharge.
• A commercial context — when are guarantees and indemnities likely to be given?
Indemnities
• What is an indemnity and what is the difference between it and a guarantee?
• Contractual requirements of an indemnity.

Assessment:

Final two-hour closed book exam