In 1983, Trevor Ivory Limited entered into an oral contract with raspberry orchardists for the provision of consultancy services and the supply of sprays and fertilisers.

The orchardists sought advice under the agreement about the spread of couch grass which was threatening their raspberry plantation and in March 1985 Mr Ivory recommended a trial spray of Roundup.

They were replaced by boysenberries.The raspberry orchardists sued Trevor Ivory in negligence and Heron J in the Nelson High Court found in their favour and awarded damages of $145,332 plus interest.

[6] In this field I agree with Nourse J (as he then was) in the White Horse case that it behoves the Courts to avoid imposing on the owner of a one-man company a personal duty of care which would erode the limited liability and separate identity principles associated with the names of Salomon and Lee.

Possibly the plaintiffs gave little thought to that in entering into the consultancy contract; but such a limitation is a common fact of business and, in relation to economic loss and duties of care, the consequences should in my view be accepted in the absence of special circumstances.

Indeed I consider that the nature of corporate personality requires that this identification normally be the basic premise and that clear evidence be needed to displace it with a finding that a director is not acting as the company but as the company’s agent or servant in a way that renders him personally liable.”This could happen in certain situations, Hardie Boys J believed, "Assumption of responsibility may well arise or be imputed where the director or employee exercises particular control or control over a particular operation or activity".

[13] Justice McGechan concurred with the rest of the Court, expressly noting of the argument given by counsel for the raspberry orchardists, "It may indeed be drawing the long bow to apply a Hedley Byrne approach so as to impose personal liability upon the managing director of a one-man company, in rural New Zealand".