KEY POINTS:
The spotlight will be turned on a Government organisation's role in the rotting home catastrophe in a case due back in court soon.
If the case succeeds, taxpayers rather than ratepayers might find themselves footing the bill for the leaky building disaster.
The Building Industry Authority's part in the saga is at the centre of litigation although it is unclear whether the case will be heard by the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court.
Residents of the 37-unit three-level Siena Villas in Ponsonby are pondering their next move, after the High Court at Auckland rejected their claim against the BIA.
Two years ago, more than 150 residents of the Sacramento apartment complex in Botany Downs suffered a similar fate. The Sacramento owners withdrew, but the Ponsonby residents are refusing to back away.
Lawyer Tim Rainey at Grimshaw & Co believes the residents have a legitimate claim and that the BIA owed them a duty of care, because it was responsible for building controls and regulations and for running the system which allowed private building certifiers to sign off houses and apartments.
After losing in the High Court, Mr Rainey has filed for a Court of Appeal hearing. But he said yesterday that he might instead apply directly to the Supreme Court, fearing the Court of Appeal will adhere to the Sacramento ruling.
If the Ponsonby residents succeed, their case will set a major legal precedent and will open the floodgates for thousands of other victims to claim money from the Government whose Department of Building and Housing now does the BIA's former role.
The Government's response to the crisis was to pass a law in 2002 establishing a state-funded system to inspect houses and hear claims.
That law is about to be beefed up this Sunday, with the establishment of a new tribunal. A faster resolution system has also been promised.
