New Zealand Woman Sues Boyfriend For Not Driving Her To Airport

A woman from New Zealand took her long-term boyfriend to the disputes tribunal because he did not drop her at the airport, resulting in her missing her flight and delaying her travel by a day. She alleged that he breached a "verbal contract" by never arriving to drop her. According to a report in The Guardian, the woman was supposed to travel for a concert with her friends while her boyfriend had agreed to stay at her house and look after her dogs. However, a day before her flight, her boyfriend did not arrive, leading her to miss the flight.

Woman Demands Reimbursement

The woman alleged that she missed her flight, incurring multiple unwarranted costs. She stated that she had to pay for another flight the next day, a shuttle to the airport, and the fee for her dogs' stay at a hostel. The woman also demanded that she should be reimbursed for the fare of a ferry trip she had booked for her and her boyfriend in the future.

The woman testified that she had entered into a “verbal contract” with her boyfriend. However, the tribunal referee, Krysia Cowie, said for an agreement to be enforceable there needed to be an intention to create a “legally binding relationship”. She wrote, "It is unlikely they can be legally enforced unless the parties perform some act that demonstrates an intention that they will be bound by their promises."

Cowie asserted, "When friends fail to keep their promises, the other person may suffer a financial consequence but it may be that they cannot be compensated for that loss. There are many examples of friends who have let their friend down, however, the courts have maintained that it is a non-recoverable loss unless the promise went beyond being a favour between friends and becomes a promise that they intend to be bound by."

Cowie found that the nature of the promises were “exchanged as a normal give and take in an intimate relationship” and there was “nothing that indicated an intention between the parties” for the woman’s boyfriend to be bound by his promises. She stated that the woman and her boyfriend did not take any steps to show an intention to take the agreement out of a promise made "between friends and to create legally binding consequences."

“Although a promise was made, it falls short of being a contract. It forms part of the everyday family and domestic relationship agreements that are not enforceable in the disputes tribunal," she wrote. According to the order, the boyfriend sent an email saying he would not attend the tribunal hearing and did not answer a follow-up call from the tribunal referee.

Thus, the claim was dismissed.