Construction

A judge has hit a container systems company with indemnity costs for tendering hundreds of pages of irrelevant evidence in a trade mark dispute and warned "future litigants that fail to heed this caution" face costs risks.

James Hardie may soon face a second shareholder class action — this one over alleged inadequate disclosures about troubles in its North American fiber cement unit in a market guidance for the 2026 financial year.

New federal fuel cost pass-through laws are expected to generate uncertainty in the construction industry, according to partners in Corrs Chambers Westgarth's leading construction practice group, who say the reforms may apply more widely than anticipated. 

HSF Kramer has appointed four new partners in Australia with expertise in major projects, energy and infrastructure amid a boom in large-scale energy and infrastructure projects.

A judge has ordered the developer of a luxury apartment block in Vaucluse, Sydney to pay builder Reform Projects over $260,000, after finding a payment claim sent to the same email as earlier claims had been validly served.

Builder Watpac has lost its bid for a separate hearing on whether a guarantee provided to the developer of Sydney's One Central Park is time-barred, with a judge saying the question should wait until $180 million in defects claims are determined.

Watpac and a consortium that includes a unit of a Chinese government-owned firm are set to compete for a tender to build the controversial Macquarie Point Stadium in Hobart.

Fletcher Building has won approval to sell its construction division to France-based VINCI Construction for NZ$315.6 million.

A Toorak developer has been barred from calling on nearly $500,000 in security, with a court finding an allegation against contractor Kronstruct was “irrational and misconceived" and did not result in the alleged $1.6 million loss. 

The former lawyer for Broken Hill Council, who was ordered to return over $2 million in unauthorised fees, has been socked with a $1 million order for indemnity costs for “exceptional” conduct in a case over his firm's rates.