College's leak case struck out

The High Court has struck out Mt Albert Grammar's "leaky school syndrome" case against Auckland City Council, but the school is still dealing with the disruptions caused by the shoddy construction.

Headmaster Dale Burden said the school was not greatly affected by the legal proceedings, but faced ongoing costs to education as the classrooms were repaired.

"The leaky buildings will be repaired no matter what the court rules ... but it beggars belief how a building could be designed, built and signed off which is as bad as the one we've got.

"All we want is a building that doesn't leak. We have teachers with health issues, and we have had to set up 12 prefabricated buildings, which is a sports field gone, basically."

Worse disruptions were still expected, with students expected to be shuffled between classrooms as each building was closed off for renovation.

Justice Raynor Asher said the "epidemic" of leaking buildings had extended to schools.

There were also problems at Southland's Edendale Primary and Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Maungawhau in Auckland, where a number of walls were said to be in "danger of implosion or explosion".

The Ministry of Education has taken court action against a number of parties, including architects and builders.

Mt Albert Grammar took separate proceedings against several defendants, including the city council.

But in a judgment last week, Justice Asher granted an application by the council striking out the board's case against it.

He said that the case was different from that of home owners where plaintiffs were more reliant and vulnerable.

Schools were generally owned by the state or other institutions that could be expected to have the resources to fund the design and building of substantial structures using professional experts to ensure proper standards were applied.