Profile.
Tim Rainey is a senior commercial barrister who is highly respected by his colleagues and other members of the profession. He is frequently consulted by other lawyers, their clients and industry groups for advice on discreet legal issues and strategic input to their cases. Tim is often called upon to deliver seminars on burning issues and developments in areas such as property law, the Building Act, Unit Titles Act, construction and negligence.
Tim has worked exclusively in litigation since he was admitted to the bar in 1992. He formed his own firm, Rainey Law, in 2009 and built that into a highly successful specialist litigation practice. He left that firm in August 2018 to join the independent Bar.
He regularly represents clients in courts and specialist tribunals across New Zealand. A career highlight was his successful appeal to the Supreme Court for clients in Osborne v Auckland Council & Weathertight Homes Tribunal [2014] 1 NZLR 766, in which he persuaded the Supreme Court to overturn rulings in four High Court cases and paved the way for numerous claimants by creating new eligibility criteria under the WHRS Act 2006. That decision was backed up with a further success in the Supreme Court in Lee v Whangarei District Council [2017] 1 NZLR 401 where he persuaded the Supreme Court to overturn prior decisions in the High Court and Court of Appeal and extend the limitation advantages from bringing a claim under the WHRS Act 2006 to all proceedings.
Tim’s skill and expertise spans most areas of commercial and civil litigation, in the areas of property and construction disputes and contractual issues. He has also advised and represented parties in trust disputes, relationship property and related issues.