Part I The Obligation to Perform On Time, 1 The Proper Time for Performance

1.01 Delay can be defined in various ways,1 but a useful starting point is Cable (William) Ltd v Trainor,2 where the New Zealand Court of Appeal had to define the word in the context of the statute of limitations.3 In the words of Shorland J:4 The dictionary meaning of the noun ‘delay’ is ‘the putting off’ or ‘the deferring’. These latter words, in our opinion, in their ordinary meaning connote postponement of performance of some act or step beyond the point of time when the act or step should have been performed. In the contractual context this means the...