Litigation and dispute resolution

Bell Gully has New Zealand’s leading litigation and dispute resolution practice. Our lawyers are leading advocates who have extensive courtroom experience and who provide strategic commercial advice.

We are known for the depth and breadth of our litigation practice and our strong advocacy skills. For the third consecutive year in 2023, Bell Gully has been awarded Benchmark Litigation's New Zealand Litigation Firm of the Year. Global legal directories, Chambers Asia Pacific and The Legal 500 Asia Pacific rank us in the top tier and Band 1, for litigation.

Work highlights

Termination of $1.5 billion purchase
Acted for Asia Pacific Village Group in a High Court dispute over its successful termination of its NZ$1.5 billion acquisition of Metlifecare. This case was one of the first pieces of litigation in New Zealand resulting from COVID-19, and raised novel issues concerning material adverse change clauses. After resolving that litigation, we acted as scheme counsel for a new transaction under which our client took over Metlifecare at a reduced price of NZ$1.3 billion under a court-approved scheme of arrangement.​​

Novel climate change claims
Acted for Genesis Energy, defending novel claims concerning its alleged responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions. We were successful in striking out most of the causes of action in the High Court, with the decision now being appealed to the Court of Appeal.

Independent recognition of our expertise​​​

The strength of our team is recognised by all of the leading legal directories:

  • Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific Awards 2021: New Zealand Litigation Firm of the Year
  • The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022: Tier 1 (top tier) for Litigation
  • Chambers Asia Pacific 2022: Band 1 (top band) for Litigation