An insurer has gone to the Supreme Court to argue against a decision which could mean higher payouts for Canterbury homeowners who are yet to settle quake claims.
The Court of Appeal last year ordered Southern Response to pay a Christchurch homeowner an extra $300,000 in costs associated with rebuilding.
The money is for out-of-scope work like engineering fees and surveying costs.
Southern Response argued that because the land was red-zoned and the owners were building elsewhere, the costs were hypothetical.
However, Justice Denis Clifford ruled a reasonable estimate for fees, on the basis the property was being rebuilt on the site, should be included.
