Woman fails in claim against ex over airport ride
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The promise of a ride to the airport is not legally binding, a woman in New Zealand discovered after seeking compensation from her ex-boyfriend because she missed her flight.
The woman was so annoyed about failing to catch her plane when her partner reneged on an airport ride that she ended the relationship and took him to a dispute tribunal for small claims.
Her ex-partner's pledge to give her a lift and look after her pets while she was away was a verbal contract, the unnamed woman claimed, according to tribunal documents released last week.
The woman requested compensation because she had to kennel her dogs, which she claimed her ex had also verbally agreed to look after, when she ended up taking a replacement flight to watch a concert with friends.
As well as seeking money for a new plane ticket, kennel costs and alternative transport to the airport, the woman also wanted the cash back for a ferry ticket she bought her ex-partner for a holiday last December.
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The tribunal dismissed her claim when it was heard in March.
A law academic said the woman would have had to show a legally binding contract for her claim to succeed.
"If the arrangement had been entered into by text message, I don't think it would have made a difference here," said Associate Professor Simon Connell from Otago University's law faculty. "What's missing is a clear signal that the parties wanted to create a legally bringing contract."
Connell said it is unusual for someone to try and legally enforce what many people would see as a social agreement, "so when it does happen, it can attract some attention."
He cited the reported 2015 example of a five-year-old boy in Britain, who was sent an invoice and his parents threatened with legal action because he failed to attend a child's birthday party.
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