Australia, Sept. 6 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on Aug. 6:

1. The plaintiff is the owner of residential premises ('the property'). The first defendant is a builder ('Super Shepherd').

2. The plaintiff and Super Shepherd entered into a contract on 27 May 2021 for Super Shepherd to perform building works ('the building works') at the property for a fixed contract price of $556,000, inclusive of GST ('the contract').

3. The contract was varied on 17 June 2022 and the fixed contract price was changed to $683,493.13, inclusive of GST ('the varied contract').

4. Between May 2021 and June 2022, Super Shepherd and the second defendant, Mr Chun Ting Lee ('Mr Lee'), a former director and secretary of Super Shepherd, represented to the plaintiff that Super Shepherd was licensed and that the building works undertaken under the contract and the revised contract would be insured with HBCF Insurance ('the licence and insurance representations').

5. The plaintiff paid Super Shepherd a total of $443,493.43 between 24 January 2022 and 19 September 2022 under the contract and the varied contract.

6. The plaintiff relied upon the licence and insurance representations when she entered into the contract and the varied contract and when she paid Super Shepherd sums totalling $443,493.43.

7. The license and insurance representations were misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive because the licence and insurance representations were false. Super Shepherd was not licenced as a builder at any relevant time and the building works were not insured with HBCF Insurance.

8. Super Shepherd engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct in trade or commerce in relation to the contract and the varied contract with the plaintiff, contrary to s 18 of the Australian Consumer Law ('ACL').

9. Super Shepherd stopped work at the property in March 2023 and has not returned.

10. In the course of the work it undertook on the property, Super Shepherd caused damage to a brick wall on the boundary with the residential property neighbouring the plaintiff's land.

11. The building works performed by Super Shepherd were defective and substantially incomplete.

12. The plaintiff has suffered loss and damage.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/19872caa789865b0c93d74fb)

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