Australia, July 9 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement:

1. The plaintiff is the owner of property at 24 Bundella Avenue, Lake Cathie, New South Wales.

2. These proceedings arise out of the construction of a residential home on the property which commenced in late 2018.

3. King & Campbell Pty Ltd prepared the architectural plans for the residence.

4. King & Campbell Pty Ltd is not a party to these proceedings.

5. The second and third defendants, trading in partnership as Alan Taylor & Associates Consulting Civil and Structural Engineers, prepared a structural engineering design for the residence to be built in accordance with the architectural plans.

6. The first defendant, Mr Daniel Wood, entered into a contract with the plaintiff on 1 August 2018 for the construction of the residence in accordance with those plans on a cost-plus basis.

7. The plaintiff sued Mr Wood for allegedly defective building works, claiming damages for breaches of statutory warranties implied in the building contract pursuant to Part 2C of the Home Building Act 1989 (NSW), breaches of express contractual warranties in the same terms, and breaches of a duty owed by Mr Wood to the plaintiff pursuant to s 37 of the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (NSW) and at general law to exercise reasonable care to avoid economic loss caused by defects in or relating to the residence for which Mr Wood did the construction work, or otherwise arising from the construction work done by Mr Wood.

8. By the time the final hearing commenced, all substantive issues between the plaintiff and Mr Wood had been resolved on terms noted by the Court at the request of those parties that the plaintiff is entitled to judgment against Mr Wood in the sum of $75,000, and that the plaintiff is entitled to an order requiring Mr Wood to deliver to the plaintiff a quantity of bricks. Questions concerning the costs of the proceedings as between the plaintiff and Mr Wood, and the plaintiff's claim for interest on costs, remain to be resolved. The Court was requested by those parties not to enter judgment against Mr Wood until those questions are resolved, noting that the question of costs as between the plaintiff and Mr Wood should be considered when the Court is in a position to consider the costs of the proceedings as a whole after determining the plaintiff's claims against the second and third defendants.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/1974359922620814d963f6df)

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.