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DISPUTE RESOLUTION & LITIGATION · CONSTRUCTION & BUILDING DISPUTES
Construction dispute? Protect the evidence and get clear on the contract before costs escalate.
Contract. Evidence. Strategy. Resolution.
Canterbury Legal assists owners, contractors and businesses with building and construction disputes, from defects and variations to payment, delay and contractual disagreements.
Act before the dispute starts driving the project
Construction disputes can grow quickly because work, invoices and deadlines continue while positions diverge. Early advice can preserve contractual rights, evidence and practical options.
We can help assess
- Building contracts and scope
- Defects and workmanship
- Variations and delay
- Payment and invoice disputes
- Notices, records and expert evidence
- Negotiation and formal dispute options
Get the project and the legal position back under control
How we help with construction disputes.
Contract review
Identify the obligations, notice requirements and contractual levers that matter.
Defects & workmanship
Assess disputes about quality, compliance, remediation and responsibility.
Variations & delay
Address scope changes, extensions, delay costs and competing project expectations.
Payment disputes
Advice on unpaid claims, disputed invoices and contractual payment issues.
Evidence strategy
Preserve correspondence, site records, photographs, reports and other key material.
Resolution strategy
Negotiate where possible and advise on formal dispute processes when required.
Construction & Building Disputes
People who can help.
Strategic dispute advice when construction projects, contracts and payments go off track.
Sydney Austin
Associate – Litigation
Terena Te Whaiti
Senior Solicitor - Litigation
Matthew Bowen
Solicitor
What happens next.
- We review the contract and chronology. Including notices, variations, invoices and correspondence.
- We identify the real dispute. Contract, evidence, payment, performance or a combination.
- We protect the position. Including time-sensitive notices and preservation of evidence where relevant.
- We choose the response. Negotiation, formal correspondence or dispute process depending on the circumstances.
- We pursue a practical outcome. With the project, cost and commercial relationship in view.
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Protect the evidence. Clarify the contract. Resolve the dispute.
Phone: +64 3 377 0792
Send enquiry.
Construction dispute FAQs
Early advice is useful when defects, delay, variations, payment or contractual responsibility becomes disputed, particularly while work is continuing.
Keep the contract, variations, invoices, notices, emails, text messages, photographs, site records and relevant expert reports.
Often, yes. A clear assessment of the contract and evidence can create a better basis for negotiation.
Get advice promptly before stopping work, withholding payment or taking another major step, because the contract and circumstances may affect your rights and obligations.
Not necessarily. The appropriate process depends on the contract, issues and value involved. We can advise on the available resolution pathways.