GOOD FOUNDATIONS

A council has been found not to be liable for defects in the foundations of a Southland home. The plaintiffs sued their builder and the council for $365,000, which represented the losses associated with the need to repair the foundations. The High Court accepted that the damage to the foundations was likely to have been caused by a previously unidentified vein of unsuitable matter (blue pug) under the house. Neither the builder nor the council were at fault for failing to identify the blue pug.