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Between 2018 and 2021, the Auckland council spent an average of almost $ 13 million a year on legal costs. (File photo)
Auckland Council has spent more than $ 56 million on external legal costs over the past five years, averaging $ 12.8 million a year from 2018 to 2021.
The council’s most expensive year at that time was 2019 when it spent more than $ 16 million, information provided to well under the Official Information Act.
That year, the council already had 1,310 cases open, and 878 new ones were opened throughout the year with 1,059 cases closed by the beginning of 2020.
By 2022, through June 2, the council had spent nearly $ 5 million, with 257 new cases opened and 181 closed so far. There were already 956 open cases on the council’s desk at the beginning of the year.
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Some cases opened will not require legal action to be resolved, Auckland Council General Counsel Helen Wild said.
“The number of files opened reflects the fact that legal risk is actively managed by the council and reflects the size and scale of Auckland Council as the largest local authority in Australasia as well as the council’s diverse range of functions,” Wild said.
“The primary driver of the legal costs is not the total number of cases, but the number of cases that are complex and lengthy and therefore consume the majority of our external legal expenditure, such as the remaining multi-unit resilience claims and significant regulatory or plan change appeals.”
The spending figures did not include about 80% of cases managed internally, Wild added.
What was included were the cases that went to external advisers, usually if they were particularly large or if they were particularly complex or risky and warranted independent advice.
Auckland Council has been taken to court over the years by all sorts of individuals and groups.
The resilience claims refer to the hundreds of leaking home claims that have been processed over the past decade. By 2018, the council had paid out $ 265 million in claims.
A notable occasion where the council faced the Supreme Court is a fruitful battle with the Ngāti Pāoa Trust Council in 2021 which sought to reverse the resource allocation granted by the Kennedy Point Marina.
Abigail Dougherty / Stuff
It has been a year since the construction of the Kennedy Point Marina began and the Protect Pūtiki Group was established. (First published on March 9, 2022)
Long-running lawsuits between the council and supermarkets over the sale of alcohol rules cost the council at least $ 1 million.
The council and its development agency Eke Panuku have spent at least $ 605,750 on a legal battle with former Māori Party co-leader John Tamihere over a housing development in Old Papatoetoe’s Tavern Lane.
It was also taken to heart about possible failure to follow its own rules or to fulfill its legal duties. Environmental advocates have requested a judicial review before the Supreme Court on the council’s handling of protected tree regulations.
Wild said in some cases, the council’s internal legal team will work with external lawyers to prepare court documents to keep costs low.
“Our internal team will often handle the less complex claims and prosecutions. We work in partnership with our suppliers in all other cases to ensure the best use of resources and the most efficient outcome, ”said Wild.
“In all cases except enforcement matters, the claims are brought by other parties against the council, and as such the council has no choice but to respond.”
Types of cases that Auckland Council typically handles:
- Compensation claims for alleged breaches of the council’s legal obligations
- Challenges to the council’s decision-making processes, which can lead to judicial review proceedings
- Complaints that attempt to overturn council decisions, such as appeals for resource consent, appeals for change of unit plan and judicial review of decisions on resource consent notices
- Enforcement cases where the council acts in its role as a statutory prosecution agency, dealing with matters such as food safety, animal control and building codes