12th February 2024 Fonterra / LegalThe Supreme Court’s decision to advance Michael Smith’s climate lawsuit against major polluters marks a significant judicial recognition of climate issues, according to University of Auckland law academics.
24th January 2024 Export / LegalA US lobby group has walked away from its battle to secure greater import tariffs on New Zealand lamb.
15th January 2024 Legal / Restaurant BrandsA Restaurant Brands subsidiary is facing two class action lawsuits in Australia in respect of its KFC brand.
15th December 2023 Employment / LegalThe former owners of two North Island restaurants who exploited migrant workers and breached numerous minimum employment standards have been ordered to pay more than $330,000 in penalties, compensation and arrears.
9th October 2023 Fisheries NZ / LegalA group of recreational fishers caught with a total of 348 fish, including more than nine times their collective daily limit for snapper, has been fined $10,500.
28th August 2023 Legal / NZFSA Canterbury meat business and its owners have been fined $84,500 for the illegal sale of unregulated homekill meat through butcher shops.
25th August 2023 Alcohol / LegalAlcohol sector stakeholders say the passing of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Community Participation) Bill could be devastating for breweries and tap rooms across New Zealand.
27th July 2023 Legal / LiquidationsA number of large and small food and beverage firms have been listed as creditors of Ruapehu Alpine Lifts.
24th July 2023 Legal / Oceania NaturalThe former chief executive of failed honey export company Oceania Natural has been hit with the highest possible court penalties for market manipulation.
7th July 2023 Legal / NZ Sugar CoThe Chelsea Sugar owner is heading to court this month following MPI filing charges over the 2021 sale and subsequent recalls of contaminated sugar.
23rd June 2023 Honey / LegalAustralian mānuka honey producers have followed New Zealand’s industry by confirming it will not appeal the recent Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand decision.
21st June 2023 Honey / LegalThe Mānuka Honey Appellation Society will not appeal the recent Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand decision.
14th June 2023 Fishing / LegalA Nelson fishing company, skipper and first mate have been fined $69,750 for failing to assess and report coral caught in their net when bottom trawling on the high seas in the South Pacific.
22nd May 2023 Honey / LegalIPONZ calls the case a “trans-Tasman tussle of extraordinary proportions over trade mark rights for mānuka honey”.
19th April 2023 Fisheries / LegalA Northland commercial fisher who failed to report about 2.5 tonnes of catch has been hit with fines and penalties totalling nearly $60,000.
17th March 2023 Legal / WorkSafeA West Auckland bakery business that did not properly safeguard its machinery has been sentenced over two incidents six months apart in which workers had their hands disfigured.
16th March 2023 Legal / ShellfishA pāua poacher who took 249 of the shellfish from the Kaikōura fishery, nearly half of them undersize, has been sentenced to seven months imprisonment.
21st February 2023 Legal / RSEThree people have been found guilty of exploiting migrants under the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme in a decision that was handed down in the Hamilton District Court on 17 February.
26th January 2023 Honey / LegalThe Mānuka Charitable Trust is continuing its fight to protect the term mānuka, after withdrawing a recent UK challenge for what it described as “technical reasons”.
8th December 2022 Alcohol / LegalA Bill making targeted changes to the licensing process in the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 has been introduced to the House this week.
19th October 2022 Legal / VenuesSome of the NZ’s largest F&B events, including Auckland Food Show and Foodtech Packtech, had to be cancelled or postponed because of the lease.
2nd September 2022 Legal / Talley'sTalley’s Group chief executive Tony Hazlett says it is disappointed its Amaltal business has been ordered to forfeit its Amaltal Apollo vessel, fishing equipment, and $127,000 worth of fish.
23rd August 2022 Legal / NZFSTwo unregistered raw milk operators have been fined for separate incidents of trying to circumvent the rules that regulate the sale and supply of the product.
13th June 2022 Delivery / LegalA driver delivering takeaway food via online app HungryPanda was an employee and not an independent contractor, the Employment Relations Authority has found.
24th May 2022 Alcohol / LegalAn Auckland liquor importing company and two managers, have been fined $151,200 for attempting to sell thousands of bottles of illegal liquor and avoiding rules in place to protect consumers.
24th May 2022 Legal / PoultryMainland Poultry was sentenced in the Papakura District Court, after a worker’s thumb was severed in October 2020.
20th May 2022 Legal / MPIA man has been banned from fishing and sentenced to home detention for his part in taking 319 pāua to sell on the black market.
18th May 2022 A2 Milk / LegalThe dairy company is now facing a class action in the NZ High Court, which relates to earning disclosures in the same period as Australian claims.
13th May 2022 Legal / MPIA Southland company has been fined $10,400 after failing to keep a fish sales record system for seafood it was moving between its Te Anau restaurants.
11th May 2022 Employment / LegalThe Employment Court has found three former Gloriavale commune members on the West Coast were employees not volunteers at the registered charity which has F&B ventures.
5th May 2022 Food Safety / LegalA milk business has been fined $30,000 for not following the rules that regulate the supply and sale of raw milk.
25th March 2022 Legal / SynlaitThe dairy company has launched legal action against the vendors of loss-making Talbot Forest Cheese Co, which Synlait bought for close to $40m.
25th March 2022 Legal / VMSTwo shareholders in Oceania Natural have been fined a combined $310,000 after they admitted to charges of market manipulation and disclosure breaches..
18th March 2022 Legal / Me TodayThe healthcare and wellness company has had to turn to its investors for cash after being surprised by inventory levels after its acquisition of King Honey.
10th March 2022 Legal / Talley'sTalley’s says it did not direct the master of a vessel to fish in a closed area.
9th March 2022 Legal / Talley'sAmaltal Fishing Co Limited, along with the master of its fishing vessel, the Amaltal Apollo, have been found guilty of 14 charges of breaching the conditions of a high seas fishing permit.
18th February 2022 Legal / MPIThe director of Tuna Fishing Company Limited has been sentenced for offences under the Fisheries Act for a second time in two years.
16th February 2022 Kiwifruit / LegalGisborne District Council is appealing a decision from the Land Valuation Tribunal, relating to the capital value of a gold kiwifruit orchard in the Gisborne district.
10th December 2021 Legal / Talley'sThe company says the broadcaster made a series of false and defamatory claims about its operations.
15th November 2021 LegalA Southland fishing company has been fined $18,000 and their boat skipper $6,750 for set netting in marine protected areas, along with removing fins from sharks and discarding the bodies at sea.
4th November 2021 Employment / LegalThe owner of Dunedin-based Romeeco Bakery has been ordered to pay $299,038 in arrears and penalties after a Labour Inspectorate investigation.
26th October 2021 Legal / Westland MilkAn appeal related to the Overseas Investment Office decision to approve the sale of Westland Milk Products to Chinese conglomerate Yili is set to start on Wednesday.
22nd October 2021 A2 Milk / LegalThe A2 Milk Company says it is aware of reports about a potential class action led by Australia’s Shine Lawyers but has no knowledge of any further legal proceedings.
6th October 2021 A2 Milk / LegalA2 “considers that it complied with disclosures notifications at all time,” following a class claim filing in Australia alleging misleading or deceptive conduct.
5th October 2021 Fishing / LegalThe commercial scam was responsible for almost $1m worth of black market pāua and crayfish from the Chatham Islands.
5th August 2021 LegalNZHFC made representations such as “100% New Zealand” knowing the royal jelly ingredient was from China, finds a court.
14th July 2021 LegalThe director of Auckland restaurant Kiran Cuisine has been ordered to pay full arrears of $75,026.18 in unpaid minimum wage, leave, and holiday pay to a former employee, as well as a further $50,000 in penalties.
22nd June 2021 Legal / ShellfishA serial offender will face serious charges under the Fisheries Act after thousands of empty pāua shells were discovered at his home during a search warrant executed by MPI fishery officers.
17th June 2021 Fishing / LegalForest & Bird has won a High Court legal decision confirming tarakihi catch limit decisions must put sustainability before the commercial interests of the fishing industry.
9th April 2021 ComCom / LegalCartel conduct included price fixing, market allocation and bid rigging.
29th March 2021 Fishing / LegalA former master of a Hawke’s Bay fishing vessel has been fined for not deploying seabird protection equipment.
9th March 2021 Legal / MPIA farmer from Kinloch near Taupō has been fined $12,000 and ordered to pay vet costs of $5,292.20 for failing to feed 245 calves.
25th February 2021 LegalThe companies pleaded guilty in separate cases to pollution charges.
24th February 2021 Legal / SanfordThe fishing company, the master of its San Waitaki ship, and its first mate have been fined a total of $53k.
