An Auckland Council agency may have to pay costs to Mobil after a legal wrangle over cleaning up prime harbour-side land.
Waterfront Auckland went to the High Court arguing the oil company should have handed back land around the Wynyard Quarter free of contamination.
The area used to be industrial. Mobil leased parts of the site from the 1950s but left in 2011.
Waterfront Auckland wanted $10 million from the company to clean it up, based on a clause in leases signed in 1985 asking Mobil to give the land back in a clean and tidy condition.
But the High Court said some of the heavy contamination of the area was also caused by others and the clause was untenable and unrealistic.
The agency is deciding if it will appeal against the ruling.
