Buildings product company Steel & Tube is appealing the record $1.885 million fine imposed by the Auckland District Court in relation to its steel mesh products.
On October 24, Steel and Tube was fined for making false claims about its steel mesh which was used in the Christchurch earthquake rebuild.
Now, after a reported careful review of the decision, Steel and Tube believes the fine is excessive. It highlighted that at the time the decision was released by the Auckland District Court, the company apologised to its customers, shareholders and staff for the historic breaches of the Fair Trading Act and stressed that the breaches were unintentional.
The firm’s move follows a decision by the Commerce Commission to also appeal against the sentence imposed on Steel and Tube. In a statement, the watchdog said the judge erred when sentencing the company by failing to properly attribute the knowledge of a Steel and Tube manager to the company, and not adequately taking into account the size of Steel and Tube and the potential for it to gain from the conduct.
In October, the Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ), meanwhile, reassured homeowners they should not be unduly concerned about insurance claims being declined for homes containing steel mesh sourced from Steel & Tube.
Both Steel and Tube and ComCom said they will not be commenting further at this time.
