Mercurius Ventures Ltd v Waitakere City Council [1996] 2 NZLR 495 is a cited case in New Zealand regarding whether a contract illegal under law, can be subsequently validated under the Illegal Contracts Act 1970.

After interviewing numerous applicants for the position, the council decided to hire Ms Howe, and offered her a starting annual salary of $80,000.

However, thinking of the advantages (and not the disadvantages) of being a self-employed contractor, she asked the council if they would consider hiring her as a contractor for $120,000, which the council accepted, and Howe started work whilst the written contract was being drafted.

Howe initially made a claim for wrongful dismissal with the Employment Court, but withdrew this when she realized she was not an employee, but a contractor, and proceeded to file a claim for breach of contract instead.

During the discovery proceedings, the WDC discovered that her previous 2 years earnings were overstated, and they amended their defence to include misrepresentation.