Within Contract Law, Simon is especially interested in the law of contract interpretation and how it interacts with other areas of contract law, which was the topic of his PhD. Simon’s research has also addressed other contract law topics, including the rule against penalties, the doctrine of non est factum, and the relationship between contract law and contractual practice.
Simon’s “Accidents and the Law” research is broadly concerned with how different areas of the law respond to the same ‘accident’ events, the different conceptions of a just outcome that sit behind those different areas of law, and how we resolve any conflicts between them. For example, a workplace accident could lead to compensation for the victim through New Zealand’s no-fault accident compensation scheme, an investigation under our workplace health and safety regime leading to the employer being convicted and ordered to pay reparation to the victim, and a possible tort claim for exemplary damages in negligence.
Simon joined the Faculty in 2014, before which he was a postgraduate student (LLM and then PhD) at Otago. Prior to that, Simon worked for the Accident Compensation Corporation.