Real estate body drops counterclaim in $700,000 case

The Real Estate Institute has dropped its counterclaim against property data information service RPNZ in a court case in which it is being sued for more than $700,000.

Immediately after institute lawyer David Bigio told Justice Rhys Harrison in the High Court at Auckland on Wednesday that the counterclaim had been withdrawn, RPNZ lawyer Pam Andrews said she would call no more witnesses and closed the case.

Instead of calling seven witnesses, she called two: RPNZ chief executive Nigel Jeffries and (under subpoena) institute consultant Leonie Freeman, who was its project manager for Project Confederation, a venture between the two organisations.

The institute had previously filed a claim in the court setting out three causes of action against RPNZ: misrepresentation, misleading and deceptive conduct in trade, and breach of duty of good faith.

The case, which opened on Monday, hinges on a business deal between RPNZ and the institute to establish a comprehensive national property database. It involves a dispute between the two over the joint venture, which would have given RPNZ access to up-to-date sales information from real estate agents.

RPNZ was a joint venture between RP Data of Australia and property information service Quotable Value NZ.