Litigation

In a loss for builder Ventura Home Group, a Western Australia tribunal has found the state's building commissioner can issue a remedy order over the installation of alleged faulty pipes at a residential property.

Sydney builder Next Constructions has accused a former employee and his wife of procuring $700,000 in secret profits by allegedly directing subcontractors to pay a company they controlled. 

A director of collapsed builder Shangri-La Construction who was found personally liable for $3.2 million in rectification costs for combustible cladding in a Melbourne apartment complex has failed to pass on his costs to his insurers. 

A court has excused the developer of a warehouse in greater western Sydney from paying a $1.38 million rent guarantee to CapitaLand Ascendas' REIT trustee Perpetual, finding it met its obligation to procure a tenant.

The builder and the developer of Sydney's 'The Eliza' apartment building have sought special leave with the High Court after they lost their challenge to a referee report that found it was reasonable for the owners to block them from rectifying defects.

In a landmark decision, the Forestry Corporation of NSW has been ordered to pay $450,000 to the Yurrungga Aboriginal Corporation after pleading guilty of cutting down nine culturally and environmentally significant trees in the Wild Cattle Creek State Forest in the state's mid-north coast.

The NSW Valuer General has lost its appeal of a decision upholding a challenge to eight land value determinations, with an appeals court finding that the Valuation of Land Act does not require the use of any specific method to determine land value.

A barrister for a group of banks defending a lawsuit launched by satellite company NewSat has questioned the credentials of the defunct firm's solicitor, who has challenged the lenders' $8.9 million security for costs bid.

A judge has put Star on the hook for over $1 million in Buildcorp's legal costs after largely losing its suit over alleged defective construction work on its Sydney casino, describing the case as "fairly disastrous".

An appeals court ruling has confirmed that non-contracting owners must prove their own loss to claim defect damages under warranties in the Domestic Building Contracts Act.